For the past few days, a video clip in which Dr. Paruchuri Mallik (who has been identified as a chemical engineer) is heard saying that the third wave of Covid-19 will take a heavy toll, has been going viral. It has been shared widely on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

In the video, Mallik says that the third wave will see a massive number of deaths. He writes off the efficacy of vaccines and questions the government's wisdom on spending Rs 35,000 crore on the 'useless' vaccines. He even goes against the unlock process, suggesting that we should lock ourselves up in the face of a dangerous strain of the coronavirus.

With TV5 inviting Mallik to spout whatever he likes, several experts have weighed in on the issue. They have called out Mallik's scaremongering, questioning his intelligence. Dr. A Venugopal Reddy has said that Mallik is wrong in painting a scary picture. "Any virus mutates into newer strains. Coronavirus is no exception. It has to be borne in mind that most of the strains will not work in favour of the virus. Also, the vaccines are effective against them and they can prevent both hospitalizations and fatalities," he added.

TV debates have been held to criticize Mallik, who has been accused of promoting vaccine hesitancy. "People in the Telugu States have been frightened by Mallik's words. Staying strong is crucial in this hour of crisis," Dr. Reddy said.

While there is always any number of 'experts' with verbal diarrhoea, what is of concern is that some TV channels dignify them. Telugu TV journalists, most of whom are ill-informed, don't have the maturity to stop their guests from uttering anti-vaxx crap. A YouTube channel indulging unlettered entities is understandable. A TV channel doing it is mind-numbing.