Hello,
There may be many root causes to India’s failure against the second wave – yet, two that stand out are the apathy of government in anticipating and preparing for the surge and the people themselves getting ahead of the logic dictated by science and data. Both these, burdening an archaic and crumbling health infrastructure.
The initial hesitancy based on unsubstantiated and unscientific fears of the immunisation may also have led to a distorted vaccine procurement policy leading to the current vaccine shortage. And now, it has unwittingly deprived many citizens of the life-saving vaccine and even threatens to dilute the most effective measure available to break the chain.
Our grantees bring you the stories of eschewing the vaccine and the resort to unproven traditional medicines and home remedies. A situation that the government has done precious little to counter.
ThePrint reports from Tamil Nadu where the death of a popular actor from cardiac arrest a day after his vaccination has induced fresh anxieties on top of the legacy of vaccine hesitancy in the state. This, when doctors asserted that there was no correlation between the jab and his death.
Kashmir Observer reports that myths percolating about the vaccine in the Valley – its impact on fertility and menstruation - have meant that less than half of the women have taken the jab as compared to men. Adding to the generally prevalent gender inequities in the UT.
In the hinterlands too, the hesitancy is widespread. Khabar Lahariya reports from the Banda district in Uttar Pradesh of whole villages abstaining from the vaccine fearing the “jab of death”.
In other stories, The India Forum delves into the severe and rampant undercounting of Covid fatalities in India. It argues that undercounting in the first wave may have been responsible for the “complacency” and apathy that marked the government’s response to the second wave. Urgent measures are needed if we are to go anywhere near finding an adequate response to the ongoing calamity.
And, The Bastion reports from Yamuna Khadar, an informal settlement in Delhi, where the digital divide is playing out. A significant number of citizens are left out of the vaccine programme as they are struggling to register on the CoWin app because they cannot operate their phone or do not have one.
For these and more stories on the tragedy that has befallen India, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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