A second wave of Covid is washing across certain parts of the country. There is no cause for panic or knee-jerk lockdowns. But there is every reason to shift gears and change the strategy followed hitherto. Intensifying efforts to modulate everyday behaviour to Covid-appropriate conduct is just one part of the solution. Scaling up vaccination is another. However, changing the pattern of vaccination in the select few regions where new Covid infections are concentrated might be even more relevant. Focus the vaccination drive in the most vulnerable areas, and saturate the population, not just those of any age group, with inoculation.
This will mean diverting vaccines from allocations that correspond to an equitable distribution of vaccines among states. The reasons for this must be articulated, and communicated effectively to the relatively lightly affected regions, where people might need to wait a tad bit more to receive their vaccination. At the same time, the government should take appropriate steps to increase the supply of vaccines. Vaccines that have applied for authorization must be approved for emergency use, based on approvals granted in other jurisdictions, particularly the US, whose sizeable Indian diaspora has seen largescale vaccination without any indication that people of Indian origin are at any special risk from the vaccines already in use. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, of which a single shot suffices, and the Novavax vaccine, which can be stored in a normal fridge, are of special interest to India.
The time is past for India to keep waiting for the World Trade Organization to heed calls to waive intellectual property rights on Covid-related therapeutics and vaccines. India should issue compulsory licences to Indian vaccine makers who have or can build additional capacity to manufacture vaccines. It is vital to secure herd immunity for the global population to prevent virus mutations into strains that are ever more difficult to contain. Long Covid can maim lives even of those who manage to survive an infection.
Courtesy - The Economic Times.
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