It’s Operation Diplomacy for India as Covid vaccine preparedness hots up

As the world races to produce a vaccine for COVID-19, it is diplomacy and strategy that will determine who gets the first-uses of the vaccine, as and when it is available. The Ken takes a deep dive into the politics surrounding potential COVID-19 vaccines and explains why, for once, India is not badly placed. The story tells you, who will get access to a potential vaccine, how much of it will a country get, and what role Indian manufacturers play in this multilateral effort?

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Dharavi’s unexpected Covid success story has lessons for Delhi, other crowded cities

Mumbai’s Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, was staring down the barrel with rising cases of COVID-19. Given the density of population - with nearly a million people living in a 2.5 kilometre area – the worst was feared. Now, almost miraculously, Dharavi has turned the corner, with very few cases being reported since the beginning of June. And it is Delhi, the national capital, with India’s highest test positivity rate, which could take a few lessons from Dharavi. The Print tells us why.

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PPE Priced High In Private Hospitals, While Public Hospitals Face Shortage

Even as the public healthcare infrastructure is overwhelmed by the rise in infections, private healthcare providers have stepped in. However, the treatment comes at a price – and a very heavy one at that. For instance, a family that admitted an elderly member for COVID-19 treatment to Delhi’s Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi was handed a bill of Rs 16 lakh. Nearly Rs 3 lakh, or Rs 10,000 a day of this amount, was for PPE alone! IndiaSpend investigates the costs that patients are being charged by private healthcare providers and the utter lack of transparency in the rates.

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Are we underreporting COVID-19 deaths?

The ICMR guidelines say that the deaths of all COVID-19 patients, even those with co-morbidities must be counted as COVID-19 deaths. Flouting this regulation, Delhi is listing only those deaths that occurred directly from COVID-19. Down to Earth explains that the lack of universal standards for counting COVID-19 fatalities, is the reason that different yardsticks are being employed by different countries, skewing the count.

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കഴുത്തിലിട്ട മാസ്‌ക്കും തിക്കിത്തിരക്കിയ നടത്തവും മലയാളി കൊവിഡിനെ ജയിപ്പിക്കാന്‍ ഇറങ്ങിയതാണോ?

The Kerala model, heralded around the world as a template for COVID-19 containment, is seemingly losing its way. This ground report by Dool News finds ATM centres without sanitisers, public hand-washing booths without water supply, and general crowding by people without following social distancing norms nor wearing a mask. Citizens bemoan that the end of the lockdown has led to a casual and lackadaisical attitude among people which is already resulting in a rise in cases in the state.

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