India’s big COVID-19 vaccination mess
Bravado and complacency highlight the deep chinks in the country’s drug approval and safety processes that are still not good enough to stand global scrutiny.
Why read this story?
Editor's note: At over 300,000 new infections and nearly 3,000 deaths a day, the second major wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought India to its knees. Heart-rending scenes play out outside hospitals in cities like Delhi and Mumbai every day as the healthcare system crumbles under the sheer weight of the galloping increase in cases. Beds, oxygen and life-saving drugs are all woefully short of demand. And there is no end in sight to the cycle of bad news. Devi Shetty, noted cardiac surgeon and founder of Narayana Health, warns that things will get a lot worse in the coming months before they get better. In a recent video clip that has been circulated extensively, he says that India will need an additional 50,000 intensive care beds and over a hundred thousand nurses and doctors in the next 12 months to tackle the surge of patients in hospitals. The only way to get a grip on this upsurge over time is by vaccinating a large segment of the population. That it helps is clear from the UK, which has managed to …
More in Chaos
You may also like
On air pollution, power producers get a hall pass
India has rolled back rules that require thermal power plants to install equipment to cut sulphur dioxide emissions, marking yet another failure in the fight against air pollution.
Karan Bajaj, the serial startup hustler, is back
The guy who preyed on your insecurities and sold coding classes for your kids is back to help your loved ones fight cancer. Don’t say we did not warn you.
India’s mad rush for protein products needs a reset
Startups and legacy FMCG players are increasingly launching packaged food rich in protein, but rampant misselling is spoiling the party.
