With no short road to universal vaccination, lockdowns should be precise and painless
Several States have extended the coronavirus lockdowns beyond May 31, while fresh cases appear to show a downward trend, but India’s COVID-19 battle lacks strategic focus. Although a cessation of activity has been imposed, there is not much clarity on the future threat from virus variants, notably B.1.617 that now has three sub-types and the dominant one, B.1.617.2, is estimated to be 50% more transmissible than another variant of concern, B.1.1.7. Neither is there a road map for vaccine availability ahead, with direct imports by States hitting a roadblock and vague assurances of a domestic ramp-up from July substituting for firm commitments. Some States are unwisely taking the foot off the testing pedal, making it that much harder to map the course of transmission. A miasma of confusion has come to pervade COVID-19 policy, where the Centre no longer has an appetite for leadership, even if it me
The government says that since WHO nomenclature doesn't use 'Indian variant', use of the term is tantamount to spreading 'false news/misinformation' about coronavirus.
“While last year we lost nearly 730 doctors across India, this year in a short period of time we have lost 244 doctors. The second wave is proving extremely fatal for all and especially those at the forefront of the battle. We have to actively increase vaccination cover among the medical staff to ensure that they have protection against the virus,’’ said IMA president J.A. Jayalal.
The following are the figures of fatalities according to the IMA registry: Andhra Pradesh (21), Telangana (19), Maharashtra (13), Tamil Nadu (10), Karnataka and Odisha (8 each), Madhya Pradesh (5), Chhattisgarh and Jammu and Kashmir (3 each), Assam, Gujarat, Haryana and Kerala (2 each) and Goa (1).