Covid-19, a global devastation has entered its second year and countries across the world are taking strict measures to contain spread.

Lives have been turned upside down, the new normal is not new anymore, economies are sputtering, and more people are dying around the world. With the vaccine, there's hope for a gradual return to normalcy — whatever that looks like in a post-pandemic world.

Here's what to expect in this new year:

One more wave of infections

Experts expect a third wave of infections after the December one, which was the second. The tougher the precautionary measures, the fewer the infections and when there are few infections, people get complacent which results into relapsed situations until vaccines intervene.

“Covid-19 has some factors in common with the previous respiratory pandemics such as the 1918’s Spanish Flu. It takes a presumably three waves for us to be able to manage it.

Since the vaccine will not take effect immediately everywhere at the same time, we could have another wave of infections this year,” said Dr Menelas Nkeshimana, a member of Rwanda Joint Task Force for Covid-19 with experience in handling pandemics.

Vaccine and campaigns against vaccine hesitancy

With the Covid-19 vaccine approved, and every country looking forward to its turn to be served as rich nations are buying and pre-ordering.

Dr Daniel Ngamije, Minister for Health, said Rwanda is expecting doses that are enough to vaccinate 20 percent of the population in March. Frontline workers, elderly and people with underlying conditions are the priority.

It is expected that there will be vaccine hesitancy as it happened in countries that got the vaccine first, the minister said campaigns will be run to raise awareness.

Decentralised testing, more infections

For months, daily tests ranged between 1,000 and 3,000. Recently, hospitals were enabled to carry out tests and the plans to give the same capacity to health centres that are scattered around the country are on execution stage, according to Rwanda Biomedical Centre Over 500 health centres will provide rapid diagnostic tests to whoever they think has been in contact with a patient or recovered patients requiring a follow up.

Daily tests have risen to 5,000 per day. Dr Nkeshimana said the more the tests He explained that Rwanda has more risks of recording more infections given its young mobile population.

Deaths can't rise exponentially because the young population recovers quickly, in addition to the vaccinated population.

The vaccines won't fully protect people right away

The vaccine process will take months and it's important for everyone to wear masks and social distance until strong immunity is reached — the point when so many people are inoculated that the virus has nowhere left to spread.

Dr Nkeshimana said both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses 21 and 28 days apart, respectively.

The vaccines provide partial protection after the first dose and full protection within two weeks of the second one.

While vaccinations and masks will go a long way in taming a raging pandemic, the relief will be gradual.

New strain

“It is typical of RNA viruses to mutate but its response to the environment is unpredictable. We can't plan for it now because it might respond differently in Rwanda than it did in other countries. All we can do is make sure we contain the virus as much as we can,” Dr Nkeshimana said.