The second wave is languishing in the country and the rate of vaccinating the citizens as per now has a good growth. Though, the country is facing a major challenge battling the new found mucormycosis aka the ‘black fungus.’ India recorded over 1.52 lakh new covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Monday, taking the country’s total infections to over 2.80 crore. This is the lowest spike in daily infections since April 9. Out of these, active cases further declined to over 20 lakh and the number of recoveries escalated to over 2.56 crore. With 3,128 new fatalities, the lowest since April 26, the death toll is now at over 3.29 lakh. As daily infections see a downward trend, several states announced a few relaxations while many have extended the lockdown measures. Delhi on Monday recorded 648 fresh Covid cases, lowest since March 18, and 86 new deaths. According to a health bulletin, the positivity rate in the national capital also fell below 1%.
The Centre plans to ramp up vaccination against Covid-19 on a “mission mode”, targeting an average of around 1 crore inoculations per day from around mid-July or August as vaccine supplies are expected to improve with not only Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech producing more doses but local production and supplies of Sputnik V also likely to start. India’s Supreme Court asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to prepare a vaccination policy that prices the shots equally for all and better protects the poor.
“Please smell the coffee,” Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said during a hearing on Monday, questioning the mandatory online registration in a country where many don’t have access to the Internet. “We want you to realize what’s happening in the country and make the necessary amendments.”
Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian on Monday said it was important not only for the health of people but also for the economy. There has been increase in vaccine doses but there is a need to enhance the pace of coverage for the population, he said. “Pace of vaccination picking up is extremely important because it will help in lowering the likelihood of another COVID-19 wave and thereby also positively enable the economic recovery,” he said while briefing the media on the GDP numbers for the financial year ended March 2021. Economic activity is inextricably linked to the path of pandemic, he emphasised. Stressing that ramping up healthcare is an important priority for the nation, he said, “Vaccination is not only important for the health of people but also for the health of the economy and the government remains committed to it (vaccination).” The health ministry has already talked about procurement of vaccines and accelerating the pace of vaccination programme, he added. Subramanian further said that there was an urgent need to contain the spread of pandemic and vaccination and strict observation of Covid-appropriate behaviour are going to help in that direction.
Either way, the Central Government plans to make daily 1 crore jabs available till the mid-July or August.
