Apart from India, fierce new Covid-19 waves are engulfing other developing countries, placing enormous pressure on their healthcare systems. The countries are Laos, Thailand and most others bordering India in Southeast Asia, except perhaps Pakistan. Even hills states of Bhutan and Nepal are literally crying for help. The new surge is mainly due to the horrifically infective character of the virus variants coupled with state complacency after the wane of the first wave which kind of spared these nations in a way. Lack of resources to set up healthcare facilities and procure medicines and oxygen has devastated these countries.
Only a week ago, the Laos Health Minister was at his wit’s end as there was virtually nothing in hand by way of money, medical equipments and drugs. The doctors there have not been exposed to this difficult pandemic spreading at mad speed.
A 200-fold jump in infection across one month overwhelmed the best brains in Laos, Nepal and Bhutan. Thailand with a whopping 98% rise in infection has its authorities groping in absolute dark. The post-first wave India, only for turning complacent, is having nightmarish times presently. The second wave caused by what’s called the ‘Delta thing’ has shattered India beyond imagination.
Life has just begun turning manageable because of divine desire rather than exclusive human efforts. Though unforgivable blunders have been committed by the Modi-headed national Government, specifically in the matter of vaccination, India is witnessing the peak having occurred and the natural wane beginning to happen.
The second wave might not have happened so furiously if only Modi had forced vaccination quite when jabs surfaced on own soil in January 2021, two of them being churned out on the home turf.
Modi, like many other politicians, imagined corona had come and gone for good. So, he got off the guard, opened the floodgates all around and let every crowd-pulling religious event happen. Even the Kumbh Mela was celebrated with pomp, ending up in Sadhus being badly infected and spreading the virus wherever they moved.
Not a single BJP super brain had ever cared to know how the US, the UK and the European Union were on bigger guard than before to contain a second wave of the pandemic. The vaccines emerged around this time, but India rulers were hesitant and ignored vaccination. They believed more the routine contraindications and reactions that happen even when one drinks a glass of iron-heavy water. The Modi administration screamed everything had turned honky dory for India because the virus seemed to have melted away in thin air and the spiked flu virus dared not touch Indians ever again.
So, the lurking mutated virus made its kill all on a sudden the way a man-eater does on seeing a hapless, unarmed village lad. The virus spread faster than wildfire and India was kneeling under pressure soon while Israel and many Western nations were busy concluding the mass vaccination programme.
Today, Israel is completely mask-less as life is back to near-normal. Most parts of America and Europe are fairly back to normal as mass vaccination has brought in appreciable herd immunity. They are readying to thwart the third wave knowing full well the difficult spiked flu virus would not vanish soon enough. Now when Indians got to know vaccines do work like magic, there was stampede at all empty centres to grab a jab which was not available at all. Sadly, the Government of India has seven fantastic vaccine plants across the country, the latest having been set up in Tamil Nadu around 2016 with state-of-the-art plant and sophisticated gadgetry.
Shockingly, all are gathering dust. Though it’s true that no drug or therapy is one hundred-per cent efficacious anywhere in the world, vaccines that have come up are simply fantastic with a few routine efficacy issues.
The elderly consumed all the available vaccines, turned immune; and therefore, the younger lot below sixty fell prey and many among them died in the second wave. That very fact proves vaccines are efficacious enough. Only 0.03-4% has suffered mild infection.
No infected person has been put on ventilator or died unless of course he or she had other unrecognised health issues. The vaccine develops full immunity after two weeks of receiving the second dose, a fact many people don’t care to know. Medical experts have also made it clear that quite a few poorly-managed vaccine centres have been the cause of infection for many who have contracted the virus and developed Covid due mainly to uncontrolled and unruly crowd and poor hygiene at the vaccine locations.
A few recipients have become serious and a minuscule number may have died before the desired antibodies developed in their bodies. Even after vaccination, the recipient has to maintain Covid-appropriate behaviour strictly as infection cannot be ruled out though only severe disease and death are least likely to occur.
There are few cases where some immune-compromised individuals have shown lower antibody levels post vaccination. In such cases too, the vaccine would still provide good level of protection to be able to remain away from ICUs and ward off death.
There is also talk of the third wave coming soon to ravage India for nearly one hundred days. But because most adults will have been vaccinated in a couple of months from now, the virus will find it impossible to get a host. So, the unvaccinated infants and children under 18 years will unknowingly play host. If by any chance, governments get them vaccinated, the virus will have no host to enter and survive; it will perish.
Odisha State has proven to be incredibly smart on the Covid-prevention front. It took all known measures by garnering support from everywhere to contain the virus during the first wave.
It scored over most of the so-called advanced States like Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Before the second wave struck, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had rightfully asked for vaccines against payment from its own dwindling coffers. But since the Prime Minister himself was blank in head himself, nothing much could be organised to provide vaccines.
Now lately, the Union Government has taken over charge to vaccinate the whole nation. But Naveen is still on his own trying to procure vaccines from any source, internal and external. He has never allowed his people to pay a dime for the jabs. It’s all free from the beginning, a policy a bit-confused Modi is now adopting to gain popularity.
Incidentally, the pan-India people’s think-tank gives an impression that Modi is no match with Naveen purely because the former is guided by two forces, the political class and the bureaucratic community.
Naveen is open and clear about his choice of advisors. The vote-stealing political class for him is deadwood or wicked. They have no brains to guide heads in governance. They are only expected to move across constituencies to figure out what’s ailing the masses.
The highly-skilled and sensitive bureaucrats who understand the basics and the rulebook are the fit ones to guide him on governance. Needless to say he has his carefully chosen team which only listens to his wish list and gets that organised into schemes.