India is the world’s top 10 buyer of Covid vaccines. It still has nowhere near enough
India has the world’s biggest vaccine producing capacity but is suffering a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections just as supplies of Covid-19 vaccines for its huge population are running low.
The government has purchased at least 205.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, according to data from the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, placing India in the top 10 vaccine buyers in the world. But those shots would only cover 8% of its 1.4 billion population.
As of Tuesday, India had administered 147.7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, according to the health ministry. Some 2.4 million of those were given on that day alone, the ministry said.
The bodies have burned for so long at crematoriums in India s western state of Gujarat that furnaces have started to melt. Firewood for funeral pyres is rationed and sparse, leaving the dead half-cremated on the banks of the Ganges. Gravediggers in the capital New Delhi are in such high demand that families are hiring them to excavate plots while stricken loved ones are still alive. All across India, a trail of death and misery is devastating a country whose leaders boasted of defeating the coronavirus just a few months ago. An explosion of new cases fuelled by the so-called double mutant variant of the coronavirus first discovered in India is now pushing the nation s overburdened healthcare system towards collapse.
by Tyler Durden
Wednesday, Apr 28, 2021 - 07:20 PM
Even as unused COVID-19 vaccines pile up and a growing number of US states are scaling back orders of new vaccines, some top West Wing staffers are quietly pushing back against President Biden s decision to share unwanted AstraZeneca jabs with India and other countries badly in need of more jabs.
According to three senior officials with knowledge of the situation, senior officials in the West Wing, and National Security Council have repeatedly rebuffed requests from leaders of health agencies to send more American vaccines abroad. While President Biden has promised to give jabs to Mexico and other nations, so far, this has mostly been talk. Those backing exports cited internal projections showing the US will soon have tens of millions of vaccines to spare. But those arguing against sharing were unmoved.
After adding 1 million Covid-19 cases in 3 days, India tops 18 million cumulative cases
From CNN s Manveena Suri in New Delhi
India recorded 1 million Covid-19 cases over the last three days, pushing the total number of cases in the country to more than 18 million since the pandemic began, according to figures released today by the country’s Health Ministry.
Authorities reported 379,257 new coronavirus cases and 3,645 on Thursday, both new single-day records for India. It was the eight day in a row total cases topped 300,000
To date, India has seen 18,376,524 Covid-19 cases. At least 204,832 people have died as a result of the pandemic.
India has the world's biggest vaccine producing capacity but is suffering a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections just as supplies of Covid-19 vaccines for its huge population are running low.