THE VACCINE CRISIS

THE SECOND WAVE of Covid-19 infections has hit the nation like a fierce tide. The number of daily cases crossed a hundred thousand within two weeks—almost five times faster than in the first wave. Another nightmare is unfolding across hospitals in major metros. In the national capital, Delhi, 50 hospitals ran out of ICU and ventilator beds last week. In Maharashtra, which accounted for over 40 per cent of the new cases, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray was forced to impose what he called a ‘Janata Lockdown’, restricting personal movement and economic activity. Meanwhile, nine other major states showed an alarming rise in cases and there is a looming threat of mini lockdowns across the country, threatening the fragile economic recovery India has managed in recent months.

“This wave is just ripping through cities,” says Malini Aisola, public health expert and co-convenor of the All India Drug Action Network. “There is full-blown panic.” India has only itself to blame. Lulled into complacency by a steep drop in cases towards the end of 2020, the central and state governments lowered their guard as did the public. Besides permitting massive public gatherings like the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar and election rallies in poll-bound states, the enforcement of Covid-appropriate behaviour was lax ever since the easing of restrictions once there were signs of the first wave receding. So great was the collective relief at the apparent retreat of the pandemic that people threw all caution to the wind and dropped their masks—and their guard—as if the pandemic had been vanquished. This, despite visible evidence of the second and even third waves hitting countries like the US and UK harder than the first. In India, the virus seemed to have mutated into a stronger and deadlier strain during the current surge. The National Institute of Virology (NIV) in