ISSUE DATE: May 17, 2021
UPDATED: May 7, 2021 23:36 IST
Staff at the Ghazipur crematorium in Delhi cart in fresh logs as
funeral pyres burn all around them (Rajk Raj/ Getty Images)
The second wave of Covid-19 is still cresting but by now we have all been touched by its terrors, and all too many of us by its sorrows and the dismal realisation that we are in the midst of a recurring nightmare, a tragedy foretold. Here, we expose the sorry tale of neglect, apathy and failure of our political leadership. The institutional collapse and bureaucratic cowardice that facilitated super-spreader religious festivals and the political carnival of an eight-phase election campaign even as the second wave of a pandemic was breaking. The narcissism that enabled our leadership to ignore the warnings of expert groups. Their inability to form bipartisan alliances between the Centre and the states in the middle of a national calamity. Now that some of the loudest voices in the land have gone quiet, t
How Indian pharma companies should have dealt with Remdesivir crisis
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Last Updated: May 07, 2021, 11:50 PM IST
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Synopsis
Incidentally, pharma companies have been conspicuous by their silence, busy making hay while the sun shines. Except for disseminating helpline numbers or web-links to check the availability of the medicine stock measures that haven’t helped much during the peak of the second wave the companies did little to stem the crisis. Instead, they became part of the problem as they faltered in their role of patients’ outreach and doctor education.
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Dr Kiran Somvanshi is a data journalist at The Economic Times. She has been a part of the research wing of ET for more than a decade and has written extensively on Indian companies and businesses. Telling insightful stories from data is her forte with corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and gender being her prime areas of interest. \n\nKiran has been a Fulbright Humphrey Fellow
Covid update: Daily new cases continue to plateau in 12 States
May 06, 2021
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No loosening grip, single day’s laxity may squander efforts made till now, cautions Health Ministry official
There is a continued plateauing in daily new Covid 19 cases in as many as a dozen States over the last two weeks, but it not time to loosen the grip as it could cost the country hugely in the near future, a Health Ministry official said on Wednesday. These States and Union Territories witnessing a declining trend in daily cases are Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Daman & Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar.
16.5 lakh vials of Remdesivir allocated to states between May 3-May 9: Centre ANI | Updated: May 05, 2021 17:10 IST
New Delhi [India], May 5 (ANI): The Centre on Wednesday informed that 16.5 lakh vials of Remdesivir were allocated to states between May 3 and May 9 , in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers, DV Sadananda Gowda chaired a meeting to review the availability of drugs for Covid treatment and other essential drugs , informed an official release by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
Gowda during the meeting appreciated the efforts of all seven manufacturers of Remdesivir for increasing the production capacity to 1.03 crore vials per month, up from 38 lakh vials per month a month ago. This increased capacity will augment the domestic availability of the injection.
Daily new cases continue to plateau in 12 States: Health Ministry
May 05, 2021
Inter-ministerial panel looking at deployment of aid received from foreign countries, says official
There continues to be a plateauing in daily Covid-19 cases in 12 States in the last 14 days, Health Ministry data showed. These States are Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Daman & Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nikobar. However, Health Ministry official Lav Agarwal said this is not the time to loosen up seeing the early decline as it may cost dearly to the country, going forward.
“In the case of infections, even a single day laxity may squander the efforts made to come to a low level of Coronavirus cases. That’s why there is a need to make continuous efforts towards containing the further spread,” said Agarwal, who is a Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry.