Opinion | Covid pandemic: accelerate vaccination
The pandemic outbreak continues. The number of daily fresh Covid-19 cases in India hit another high with over 4.14 lakh cases reported on Thursday, while the number of Covid-related deaths in the past 24 hours has almost reached four thousand ( 3927). Over the past 10 days, the daily number of deaths has been steadily rising to over three thousand. On average, 150 Indians die every hour from Covid-19. According to WHO weekly estimates, 46% of daily fresh cases originate from India, while over 25% of Covid-related deaths also originate from India.
Maharashtra continues to dominate the state with 62,194 new cases and 853 deaths. Karnataka is second with 49,058 new cases and 328 deaths, Kerala 42,464 new cases and 63 deaths, Uttar Pradesh 26,780 new cases and 353 deaths, Tamil Nadu 24,898 new cases and 195 deaths, Andhra Pradesh 21,954 new cases and 72 deaths , Rajasthan 17,532 cases and 161 deaths, Chhattisgarh 13,846 new cases and 212 deaths, Gujarat 12,545 new cases and 123 deaths, Madhya Pradesh 12,421 new cases and 86 deaths, Punjab 8,874 cases and 154 deaths and Uttarakhand 8,517 new cases and 151 death.
The spread of the pandemic is a clear sign that states in the southern, western and northern regions are facing the full brunt of the second wave. As of Thursday evening, 16.48 crore of Indians received doses of the Covid vaccine, but that cumulative total is very low compared to the Indian population. There is still a lot to do. A mass vaccination campaign must be launched, supported by adequate stocks of vaccine doses.
The good news is that components to produce 20 million doses of Covishield have arrived from the United States. The United States, the European Union, Canada and New Zealand have said they are ready to discuss waiving intellectual property rights to vaccines, but Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and Switzerland opposed it. If intellectual property rights on patented vaccines are removed, it will help India and other developing countries boost the manufacture of patented vaccines like Pfizer, Moderna and Novovax.
Meanwhile, the oxygen supply in the Delhi-NCR region appears to be better, although it is unpredictable. The government of Tamil Nadu told the Madras High Court that it only had a supply of oxygen left for hospitals. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal thanked Delhi’s prime minister, Supreme Court and High Court after the city government received 730 metric tonnes of oxygen on Thursday.
Despite the increased supply of oxygen, the widespread blackmarketing, hoarding and profiting of oxygen cylinders, concentrators and life-saving drugs continues in Delhi and some neighboring states. On my prime-time show “ Aaj Ki Baat ” Thursday night, we showed how old and used fire extinguishers, normally red in color, are painted black, old fire extinguisher nozzles are removed and Oxygen nozzles installed, filled with oxygen, then sold to unsuspecting relatives of Covid patients as oxygen cylinders in Shahdara, Delhi. Delhi police arrested three people and seized 532 fire extinguishers that had been kept in the factory for being repainted as oxygen cylinders. 72 fake oxygen cylinders were also seized. Think about the scale of this racket. These fake oxygen cylinders were sold for between 15,000 and 17,000 rupees.
There are potential risks of explosion from fake oxygen cylinders, as real oxygen cylinders are completely different from fire extinguishers. The gang members who were caught by the police were getting these old fire extinguishers from scrap dealers. These extinguishers are not cleaned, there could be dust and iron particles inside, and if oxygen is filled and administered to a patient, the patient may suffocate. These extinguishers have a certain level of air pressure, and if more oxygen is filled, it can cause an explosion. I invite relatives of Covid patients to be on alert and to inform the police if unscrupulous traders try to sell fire extinguishers like oxygen cylinders.
At a restaurant in Lodhi settlement, Delhi police broke a profit racket. This gang imported Chinese oxygen concentrators for 20-25,000 rupees each, then sold them online for 60-70,000 rupees each. During the raid, 32 boxes containing 419 5-liter and 9-liter oxygen concentrators, one box of thermal scanners and several boxes containing N95 masks were seized and four people were arrested.
Staff from the drug control department in Gurugram arrested three people with 260 oxygen cylinders, which had been brought in a truck from Mumbai. They were selling cylinders worth Rs 12,000 to Rs 34,000 each near a community center in Badshahpur village. By the time the raid was carried out, black traders had already sold 250 bottles of oxygen within two hours.
On Wednesday evening, I had shown in “Aaj Ki Baat” how cotton swabs used for RT-PCR tests were made under hygienic conditions in an Ulhasnagar slum near Mumbai. Upon further investigation, it emerged that this racketeering had been going on since May of last year, when the first wave of the pandemic was at its peak. After the India TV survey was broadcast, RT-PCR tests in the centers where these cotton swabs were supplied were stopped. Seven teams from Ulhasnagar Police, six teams from Ulhasnagar Municipality and four teams from the FDA searched the entire locality. A large number of stocks have been seized, but contractor Mahesh Keswani aka Rubberwala is on the run. Police raided his office, home and recesses for more inventory.
A commission of inquiry has been set up by the local municipality to investigate this racketeering. I expect the local police to catch contractor Mahesh Keswani sooner rather than later, as he is the main culprit. He can reveal to the police where the stocks of RT-PCR cotton swab packages were sent. I understand the plight of the poor who worked hard at home to make these cotton swabs. They were paid a meager Rs 2 to make 100 cotton swabs. No one can expect these poor workers to buy gloves and disinfect their surroundings while making cotton swabs. The sooner the entrepreneur is caught, the better. Such a trader should be given exemplary punishment so that others do not dare to commit such an act in the future.
Aaj Ki Baat: Monday to Friday, 9 p.m.
India’s number one and most watched Super Prime Time news show ‘Aaj Ki Baat – Rajat Sharma Ke Saath’ launched just ahead of the 2014 general election. Since its inception, the show has redefined India’s prime time and is digitally far ahead of its contemporaries.
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