Covid-19: How India failed to prevent a deadly second wave
image captionFamily members of a person who died of Covid-19 react during a cremation
In early March, India s health minister Harsh Vardhan declared the country was in the endgame of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Vardhan also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi s leadership as an example to the world in international co-operation . From January onwards, India had begun shipping doses to foreign countries as part of its much-vaunted vaccine diplomacy .
Mr Vardhan s unbridled optimism was based on a sharp drop in reported infections. Since a peak of more than 93,000 cases per day on average in mid-September, infections had steadily declined. By mid-February, India was counting an average of 11,000 cases a day. The seven-day rolling average of daily deaths from the disease had slid to below 100.
Apr 19, 2021
Welcoming Dr. Lalit Kant to Ashoka University, Professor Malabika Sarkar, Vice-Chancellor, Ashoka University, said, “Ashoka is committed to conducting cutting-edge research in different disciplines including biomedical research. Dr. Lalit Kant brings his expertise and experience to Ashoka in this domain to build bridges with hospitals at a time when such collaborations are critical to the future of public health management in the country.”
Prof Shashidhara, Dean (Research) of Ashoka University, said, “Dr.Lalit Kant is one of the most respected and trusted names in medical research. I am confident that he will be able to mentor our faculty to pursue great science of high societal impact.”
After yesterday’s AstraZeneca jab I’ve got a bit of a sore upper arm, but no grinding ache. Feel generally just a bit languid and meh. I may even get in the garden and continue the War on Overhanging Branches.
OTOH that article about the spread of Covid around India thanks to shitty Government messaging and general delusion about where we are with the pandemic could have been filed about Britain. In fact, with Flobalob sooooo eager to ‘Get Back to Normal Pt 3’ and his refusal to upset his fellow autocrat Modi by putting India on the restricted Red List, it
Viral clouds forming in closed buildings can drift between rooms. Pixabay
A recently published report in The Lancet stated SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is an airborne pathogen. The paper written by six experts from the US, the UK, and Canada, says that the evidence supporting airborne transmission is overwhelming, and evidence supporting large droplet transmission is almost non-existent.
Speaking to IANS Professor Srinath Reddy, president of Public Health Foundation of India said: “While the virus can spread by air even in the open, the flow of air currents will not allow large viral clouds to form and hang around while such clouds can form easily and waft around slowly in closed spaces.” He stressed wearing a proper mask and eye protection to prevent virus entering through the nose, mouth, or eyes, and ventilation a key ally in keeping the viral load low. Excerpts from the interview: