April 26, 2021
It was a tweet from India’s largest vaccine manufacturer that made the US a stakeholder in India’s fight against the brutal second wave of Covid-19.
On April 16, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted to US president Joe Biden about the latter’s embargo on exporting vaccine raw materials.
He didn’t specify what these raw materials were, nor did he say if these were meant for the production of Covishield, the AstraZeneca vaccine his company is manufacturing in India. Poonawalla later clarified in an interview with CNBC-TV18 that these curbs from the US do not impact the production of Covishield.
April 26, 2021
India’s healthcare system is crumbling and Twitter is becoming the nerve centre for the crisis.
A host of hospital management teams and doctors have created Twitter IDs in just the last couple of months only to send out #SOS requests, amplify issues, and connect with those who can help.
Hospitals that were active on Twitter earlier have changed how they use it.
For instance, Delhi’s Moolchand Hospital, which joined Twitter four months into the coronavirus outbreak in July 2020, steered away from the regular programming of its vaccine drive tweets to put out SOS messages.
These requests are surfacing either because nobody knows who to ask for help, or their pleas to the authorities have failed to get aid.
April 23, 2021
India’s memories of last year’s lockdown are so bitter that political leaders in the country now seem afraid of using that word.
For instance, Maharashtra, among the worst Covid-19-hit states in India, announced stringent restrictions on April 5, shutting down nearly all private establishments. And yet, it called it “Covid restrictions” and not a lockdown. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, in fact, was clear that he is doing everything he can to avoid a lockdown in the state.
Similarly in Delhi, which first announced a “night curfew,” began “weekend curfew”
on April 17, which has now been extended to every day until April 26. All public places gyms, markets, shopping malls, cinema halls, public parks are closed, while public transport operates at a limited capacity.
April 23, 2021
Earlier this year, a digital “toolkit” had riled up the Indian government so much that it called it “an international conspiracy” and arrested a young activist for making minor edits to the document. Now, similar e-documents are proving to be one of the most efficient tools in providing essential support to Indian citizens struggling with a brutal second wave of Covid-19.
The Indian internet is currently flooded with “toolkits” that provide details about the availability of life-saving medicines, oxygen supplies, the status of beds in hospitals, among other things.
The conflict over a toolkit
In February, the Delhi police had arrested 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi on allegations that she had contributed to a toolkit that contained information on how to support the Indian farmers’ protest.
April 20, 2021
After much debate and delay, India has decided to open up its Covid-19 vaccination drive to all adults over the age of 18 from May 1. But if the past track record of vaccine administration in the country is anything to go by, this policy change might not make much of a difference to the lives of ordinary Indians.
In December 2020, India had estimated that it would vaccinate 300 million people by August. This target included healthcare and frontline workers, and Indians over the age of 50 who have co-morbidities. On April 1, the government relaxed the eligibility for the vaccine further to include all those over the age of 45.