Calibrated Unlock, Now No Short way to Universal Vaccination and Digital Divide to Registration
4 min read
Ramshackle corona policy not respiring masses of India
Assistant Prof. & Author Pyar Singh Thakur
Recently many states of India have extended the coronavirus lockdowns beyond May 31 to June 7, and some have unlocked with instructions to the people and business industry, while fresh cases of corona appear to show a dip, but India’s COVID-19 tussle lacks strategic focus. Although repression of activity and banned useless promenade have been imposed, still there is no much clarity on the future threat from coronavirus variants notably variant B .1.617 that has three sub-types and the dominant one, variant B. 1.617.2, is estimated to be 50% more transmissible than another variant of concern, variant B. 1.1.7. Neither is there a preplan for vaccine availability ahead, with direct imports by the States of India hitting an obstacle and unclear surety of a domestic mobilize vaccination from July substituting for firm convictions.
Some States are unwisely taking the foot off the testing pedal, making it that much harder to map the course of transmission. An environment of apprehensive and doubts have come to a miasma of confusion has come to percolated COVID-19 policy, where the Central Government of India no longer has a yearning for leadership, even if it means dodging responsibility for universal vaccination in the country, and the only tool available with the States of India is a lockdown or unlock with hard instructions. Complete lockdown also does not provide a permanent solution and comes with its own economic side-effects that hit the working class poor the hardest and economy, education, industry, hotel industry of the country as well.
It is a time for making a new strong pandemic policy that reflects scientific insight, encourages safe public behavior through disseminating proper communication, monitoring and importantly, moping in more medical services and interventions to expedite vaccination from urban level to rural level to eradicate coronavirus.
The snail pace of the governments and access to corona vaccination do not point to a steep rise in vaccination by the end of this year to cover most part of the Indian population as there is more dearth of vaccination at the rural level and illiteracy also in online registration for vaccination. This digital divide cannot afford the availability of amenities of vaccination to the rural masses mostly illiterate people, for example, how an illiterate worker or migrant worker fellow can apply for vaccination through online way.
The governments should introduce a respite way of vaccination through which all people can leverage from vaccination immediately at a rural level first as much population dwells in rural areas and during lockdown it could be administered to rural masses easily at their doorsteps but ramshackle provisions and shortage of vaccination lost this opportunity to serve the masses. To date, our rural areas like Himachal Pradesh were safe against corona pandemic but it stepped in the rural areas with huge intimidation to the rural people and the corona cases and deaths rate jumped and making it imperative for States to prepare for potential future surges to safe the public from coronavirus. The vaccination for children is far away from medical services, medical companies and governments as this is not provided at the time, it can be a daunting challenge for the future of the country. Although claims have been made of a large volume of three corona vaccines becoming assumptions between August-December of this year; the road to universal immunization is going to be so late and long.
The process is complicated by the finding in Britain that it takes two doses of Covishield for 60% protection against the dominant coronavirus variant that is also found in India; the second dose, therefore, should be administered after eight weeks, not 12 or 16. Under such vacillate steps of the Central Governments and State governments what the States of India can do promptly immediately are to go at a good lockdown protocol or unlock down protocol and respiring people of India from shocks of corona. Many State Governments of India recently move to limp the lockdown in their States with opening daily need shops and other required shops and business by instructing to allowing the needy shops and offices for 6 to 7 hours may lead to massive crowding again as people are not wanting more closures at homes, financial loss due to empty hands, however, they are facing apprehensive of coronavirus variants ahead and governments have no panacea of corona and universal vaccination.
No doubt, corona cases stopped to some extent in many areas of the States during lockdown but it led to panic and fear among migrant workers, disabled, and leaves less affluent people and many single individuals unable to cope with the mayhem of corona and confused decisions of the governments because from the sides of Central Governments and State Governments, there is no solid corona policy, proper and fast vaccination till date, and masses are in stress of corona havoc, social and economic crunch.
