India's COVID 19 Energency.. Lancet, May 8th 2021.
"The message that COVID-19 was essentially over also slowed the start of India’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign, which has vaccinated less than 2% of the population. At the federal level, India’s vaccination plan soon fell apart. The government abruptly shifted course without discussing the change in policy with states, expanding vaccination to everyone older than 18 years, draining supplies, and creating mass confusion and a market for vaccine doses in which states and hospital systems competed. . "
India must now pursue a two-pronged strategy. First, the botched vaccination campaign must be rationalised and implemented with all due speed. ... The government must work with local and primary health-care centres that know their communities and create an equitable distribution system for the vaccine.
Second, the government must publish accurate data in a timely manner, and forthrightly explain to the public what is happening and what is needed to bend the epidemic curve...... Modi’s actions in attempting to stifle criticism and open discussion during the crisis are inexcusable. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that India will see a staggering 1 million deaths from COVID-19 by Aug 1. If that outcome were to happen, Modi’s Government would be responsible for presiding over a self-inflicted national catastrophe." https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01052-7/fulltext
Before the second wave of cases of COVID-19 began to mount in early March, Indian Minister of Health Harsh Vardhan declared that India was in the “endgame” of the epidemic. see https://indianlekhak.com/india-news/in-the-endgame-of-the-epidemic-in-india-the-health-minister-says
The impression from the government was that India had beaten COVID-19 after several months of low case counts, despite repeated warnings of the dangers of a second wave and the emergence of new strains. For criticism of India’s complacency over COVID-19 see World Report Lancet 2021; 397: 1611–12
a serosurvey by the Indian Council of Medical Researchin January suggested that only 21% of the population had antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. see https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55945382
At times, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government has seemed more intent on removing criticism on Twitter than trying to control the pandemic see https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/25/business/india-covid19-twitter-facebook.html
some state governments threatening those asking for oxygen or a hospital bed with national security laws. see https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/27/indian-state-cracks-down-on-hospitals-flagging-oxygen-shortage
the botched vaccination campaign must be rationalised and implemented with all due speed. There are two immediate bottlenecks to overcome: increasing vaccine supply (some of which should come from abroad) and setting up a distribution campaign that can cover not just urban but also rural and poorer citizens, who constitute more than 65% of the population (over 800 million people) but face a desperate scarcity of public health and primary care facilities. The government must work with local and primary health-care centres that know their communities and create an equitable distribution system for the vaccine. see https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-29/how-india-s-vaccine-drive-crumbled-and-left-a-country-in-chaos
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that India will see a staggering 1 million deaths from COVID-19 by Aug 1. see https://covid19.healthdata.org/india?view=total-deaths&tab=trend
Lancet's scathing criticism of Modi govt's lack of leadership and transparency in the time of this pandemic - https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/05/08/own-up-to-mistakes-provide-transparency-and-responsible-leadership-the-lancet-to-modi-govt
For earlier documentation and Conversations on COVID, see http://emeets.lnwr.in/index.php/covid