Cumulative vaccination coverage crosses 17 crore doses: India fastest to reach landmark
GN Bureau | May 10, 2021
The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed the landmark of 17 crore on Monday as the Phase 3 of the nationwide vaccination drive expands further. India is the fastest country to administer 17 crore Covid vaccine doses – China took 119 days and USA 115 days to reach the landmark.
As many as 6,738 oxygen concentrators, 3,856 oxygen cylinders, 16 oxygen generation plants, 4,668 ventilators/BiPAP/CPAP and more than 3 lakh Remdesivir vials received as part of global aid to India have so far been delivered or dispatched to states and UTs to augment and supplement their infrastructure, the health ministry said in a release.
Four-digit security code to minimise errors for online bookings, appointments
GN Bureau | May 7, 2021
The CoWIN system, the overarching digital platform for citizens seeking appointment for the Covid-19 vaccine, is introducing a new four-digit security code” in the application from Saturday to minimise a peculiar error and subsequent inconvenience to citizens.
“It has been noticed in some instances that citizens that had booked their appointment for COVID vaccination through the CoWIN portal, but did not actually go for vaccination on the scheduled date, have received notification through SMS that a vaccine dose has been administered to them. Upon examination, it has been found to occur largely on account of the Vaccinator wrongly marking the citizen as vaccinated, i.e. an instance of a data entry error by the vaccinator,” the health ministry said in an official release on Friday.
Mumbai, once the epicentre of the pandemic in India, has emerged as a model for all others in mitigating the crisis. The supreme court on Wednesday said the central government should adopt and take lessons from the Mumbai model to manage liquid medical oxygen supply for Covid-19 patients in Delhi.
The apex court directed that a Delhi government official and central government official should engage with the BrihanMumbai municipal corporation (BMC) officials to augment the supply of oxygen for Delhi.
“There is a wealth of information coming every day. The BMC is doing some great work – with no disrespect to Delhi. What are they doing? How are they managing? We can learn from them. I understand that Maharashtra also produces oxygen which Delhi can’t do, but if a great metropolis like Mumbai could do it, Delhi could also take some lesson,” said a bench comprising justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah.
Exploring public memory of the 1971 war in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India 30 April 2021
Celebrations after the end of Bangladesh’s Liberation War. For Bangladesh, which won its sovereignty on 16 December that year, it was a historic event that led to the realisation of its long-sought dreams of independence. Jack Garofalo / Paris Match / Getty Images
Celebrations after the end of Bangladesh’s Liberation War. For Bangladesh, which won its sovereignty on 16 December that year, it was a historic event that led to the realisation of its long-sought dreams of independence. Jack Garofalo / Paris Match / Getty Images
ON 25 MARCH THIS YEAR, at a feminist webinar to mark fifty years since Bangladesh gained independence, the Pakistani author and oral historian Anam Zakaria spoke about the “political and cultural silencing around the birth of Bangladesh” that she witnessed around her while growing up. She clarified that this was not a “comple