1) The
arrival of second wave of COVID-19 in India was duly expected but the momentum
with which the wave has ravaged the country is beyond contemplation. The daily
infection numbers are harrowing with peak of second wave shooting up by at
least 250% of the peak last observed in September 2020. India alone accounts
for almost 10% of the total COVID-19 infections at global level.
2) The
Government of India has pulled up its socks announcing lockdowns and mobility
restrictions across different states. Further, the eligibility criteria for
vaccination drive was also expanded to accommodate people above 18 years of
age. However, with the current shortage observed at different vaccination
centers, it will be quite a remarkable feat if India manages to pull it off
effortlessly.
3) Currently,
medical infrastructure in India is only equipped to inoculate only 3% of the country’s
population. India is able to vaccinate only 3 million people daily, which comes
to 0.2% of the Indian population. With this speed, it is nearly impossible to
inoculate entire country by November as previously assured by the Government
4) Indian
healthcare structures are crippled with mounting cases and hospitals are widely
reporting shortage of patient beds and oxygen cylinders. There is significant
amount of news pouring in of companies beefing up their oxygen production.
However, main issue lies in providing the required logistical support. In 2019,
India’s oxygen requirement was 700 metric tons per day. This figure eventually
spiked to 2,800 metric tons during first wave in 2020. The second wave reported
further spike in demand to the tune of 5,500 metric tons per day. Furthermore,
an oxygen tanker can carry only up to 15 tons of oxygen. About 3 hours each are
required for filling the tankers and transferring them to hospital’s storage
units, apart from 24-36 hours required in-transit. Therefore, it is imperative
that more tankers are added to existing portfolio to strengthen the logistics
and cater to overwhelming demand.
5) The
Government has connected internationally with governments in United Kingdom and
Germany for procurement of oxygen cylinders. They are also attempting to fast-track
the regulatory controls for procuring the international approved vaccines.
6) As
we approach the end of April, the state governments should to stay clear of lockdown-infused
solutions and instead come up with more creative approaches to curb the spread
of virus. Micro-containment zones, rapid testing and efficient frictionless
vaccination delivery can gradually lead to the peaking infection rates into a
nose-dive.
