With less than five crore Indians vaccinated against COVID-19 ever since the vaccination programme rolled out on January 16, less than five per cent of the country has been covered. The Centre's decision to extend vaccination to all Indians who are 45 or older is a shot in the arm for the vaccination drive, which is progressing at a slow pace.
The fact that 23 lakh doses of the vaccines have already been wasted is not good news either in a country which has positioned itself as the vaccinator of the world. India is using Vaccine Maitri as an important diplomatic outreach.
The country has entered into the second wave of infections, and partial lockdowns have been imposed in several cities and towns. Schools, which had opened in a phased manner, have been shut again. The fate of important exams, specially class X and XI exams, which are scheduled for later this year, starting May, is again under a cloud. An acceleration of the vaccination drive is imperative at this juncture.
However, the initial phases of vaccination after the frontline workers were inoculated, have thrown up the class and urban-rural divides in coverage—this even when the vaccine has been given for free or at a nominal cost of Rs 250 per dose. In fact, Serum Institute of India, which is manufacturing Covishield, has put exports on hold to take care of domestic demand. As per census records, nearly one-fourth of Indians (26 per cent) are in the 45 to 64 age group, while another 13 per cent are over 64. Hence, even the latest move of the government will only cover 39 per cent of the population, that is, if the vaccination is done in mission mode and made accessible to all groups. Vaccine hesitancy, it appears, is the least of the problems in India—access is the biggest one.
Besides, the recent developments make it clear that it will be a long time before even half the country gets the two shots. Therefore, the Centre's directives to state governments and Union territories to ensure that the COVID-19 protocols are being observed is more important than extending the vaccination programme to more people. The Centre has stressed that states follow the health ministry's guidelines on containment zones and observe the test-track-treat protocol. The states have been instructed to aggressively test and detect cases early, isolate people who test positive and trace their contacts. The states have also been told to step up RT-PCR tests, and make it comprise 70 per cent of testing.
Home secretary Ajay Bhalla has written to chief secretaries of all states, assuring that the world's largest vaccination drive is “proceeding smoothly. However, the pace is uneven across different states and Union territories, which is a matter of concern.” He said vaccinations are critical to break the chain of spread and state governments needed to step up the pace of vaccinations.
In the battle against COVID-19, all guns need to blaze. While inoculation needs increase rapidly, the governments need to get cracking with the test-track-treat protocol. It is clear that there will not be too many curbs imposed on trade and travel, and so personal measures continue to be vital. The protocol of face masks, sanitisers and social distancing remains an effective shield against the virus.
