COVID-19, Vaccines and the Current Scenario
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, India has witnessed a massive surge of cases in the past month. The second wave of coronavirus has devastated lives and livelihoods across the country. At the heart of this surge was the B1617 variant, believed to be more contagious than the original virus. But, what makes the second wave worse is the fact that, this time around, COVID-19 has travelled to the small-town India, to the villages, tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Last year, the first case of COVID-19 in India was reported on January 30, 2020, and thereafter only two more cases were reported in February. By march, the cases were rising exponentially, and the country went into a sudden, strict nationwide lockdown by the end of the month, only four hours after PM Modi’s announcement. This year, the approach towards lockdowns has been different, for obvious economic, political and managerial reasons. We’ve seen state specific lockdowns. But, that hasn’t helped the situation the way one would’ve hoped. With over 1.4 lakh cases reported in the last 7 weeks alone and a lot of deaths being reported in the last few weeks, May has been the deadliest month of the epidemic for India so far.
But, there are glimmers of hope, with the number of cases reported receding. Furthermore, there has always been a long time lag in reporting deaths. And, it is possible that the actual number of deaths in the past weeks will be available only two to three weeks later. So, once the states clear their backlog, there is likely to be a sharp decline in the daily death counts in the coming days, which might help improve the public sentiments. And, with Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V already on the rollout, India has made considerable strides in its vaccination programme, becoming the 2nd fastest country to administer more than 200 million doses.
Despite administering many doses, the actual number of fully vaccinated persons is quite low. And, this is something that has been in discussions of late. On June 2nd, DCGI relaxed its guidelines for emergency use authorisation of WHO approved vaccines, giving India’s vaccine drive a much needed shot in the arm. With India’s vaccination rate hitting a minor bump post the launch of the third phase of vaccination in May, the new guidelines, hopefully, will help India reach the mammoth task of vaccinating all eligible Indians by the end of 2021.
Though the current situation seems to be improving, it is actually achievable only if there is a natural consensus, to prioritise the fight against the coronavirus, across the political lines. But, this is not very happening in the present scenario, with everybody pointing fingers at one another, further creating a state of confusion. While the center is hesitant to admit it’s miscalculations and move on, the political opposition is trying hard not to miss any opportunity to score political points. This is a serious issue, which needs to be fixed first. The only way to effectively tackle the COVID-19 is to bring all the players, involved in policy making, on board. Though it might sound uncertain, the possibility is real.
Well, if there is one underlying theme it is this, that the center, it’s political opposition and the public, all should be equally motivated and contributing during the challenging situations, such as the current one.
