Vaccine, other preventive measures go a long way in battling Covid

India's Covid-19 affliction curve may have headed southward, for the first time, since the beginning of the second wave and daily cases in the week ending May 16 may have also fallen 16 per cent sequentially, but there is no place for complacency. The much-hyped vaccination drive, which had been thrown open to all adults some two weeks ago to combat the fierce second wave, has turned out to be a damp squib.

Vaccine availability has become a bottleneck across the country, much to the dismay of commoners. And as a result of this, some states had to announce a temporary halt to their vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group and prioritise those in the 45+ bracket, especially in case of the second doses. Consequently, daily vaccinations have reduced to nearly 1,455 per million people (week ended on May 16), from 1,770 at the end of April. The world average is 2,962 per million.

This is the fourth straight week that daily vaccinations have come down. Cumulatively, India has administered more than 15.4 crore doses. Even as India has announced its third phase of vaccination starting May 1, opening it up for those from 18 years upwards. Mind you that daily vaccinations are slowing down as vaccine supplies are getting choked.

There are actually more worrying signs than one. The global pandemic, hitherto considered to be predominantly an urban phenomenon, seems to be closing in on rural India as well. The share of predominantly rural districts in new cases in April was 30 per cent, up from 21 per cent in March. The good news, so far is that, this level is still lower than the peak reached in the first wave (at 40 per cent in August 2020).

So far the major affected states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. And they all have reported fewer new infections. The affliction rates have slowed down in Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh too, compared with the week ending April 25. These figures certainly augur well for India and Indians. New cases, pan India, had touched a high of 4.14 lakh on May 6. But it has now come down to average 3.6 lakh (approximately) as on May 16, offering some respite. Mind you that the Niti Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul has recently outlined the central government's plan which involved a total of eight Covid-19 vaccines that will help India authorities inoculate all its citizens by the end of 2021.

The Centre has already given a push to increase vaccine manufacturing and has issued emergency use authorisation to Biological E, Zydus Cadila, Serum Institute of India for Novavax, Bharat Biotech's nasal vaccine, Gennova and Sputnik V. But for the time being, there will be three options available for the Indian citizens from the upcoming week. These options include Russia's Sputnik V, Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine- Covishiled and Serum institute of India's Covaxin. Even as these initiatives are on at the government level, in the face of a massive second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic across the country, several companies have undertaken a host of preventive measures to combat Covid-19 including daily temperature checking, maintaining social distancing, compulsory registration on the Arogya Setu app, the provision of safety gear including masks, gloves and eye-protection along with daily regular sanitisation at all their facilities. These initiatives will certainly go a long way in battling this healthcare catastrophe.