The Escalating Crisis

By Meriam Sabih | June 2021

The month of May has been the deadliest in the pandemic in India. Heartbreaking images keep coming out of India of desperate family members trying to find hospital beds and oxygen for their dying relatives as they gasp for air and these are difficult to see. Hundreds of bodies have been found floating in the Ganges River or buried near its banks. It is evidence that the official numbers of over 283,000 deaths is much higher. Many of India’s poor cannot afford to bury their dead and others may be practicing “Jal Pravah”, the practice of dumping infected bodies or those of unwed girls, as a traditional practice.

The World Health Organization calls the triple-mutant India variant, as B.1.167. It is said to be “a variant of concern at a global level” as preliminary studies show it may spread 50% faster and may be a potential global health risk, especially if it evades some of the protections offered by the vaccines. The variant has already made its way to countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and over 40 others. Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s chief medical advisor to President Biden and top infectious disease expert, has said the vaccines used in the United States, both Pfizer and Moderna, are “at least partially and probably quite protective” but has recommended a lockdown for India to contain the escalating Covid crisis.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Prime Minister Modi ordered an extensive lockdown shutting down businesses and closing state borders. He was criticized for being too strict. The lockdown prompted a mass exodus of migrant workers and sent many of its poor even deeper into poverty. Modi stated in a speech on April 20 that the country must do all it can to avoid another lockdown. Perhaps the public and government fears of another lockdown prompted India to go to another extreme where restrictions were eased too quickly instead of continuing to move ahead slowly with ample caution.

One of the other keys in the fight against Covid is to vaccinate as many people as soon as possible. India is the world’s largest producer of vaccines, even known as the ‘pharmacy of the world’, but they exported over 60.5 million doses, more than the vaccinations administered within the country itself.

India did not plan ahead of time to make domestic inoculations a priority for its large population. In the United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order back in December 2020 making vaccinations to the American people a priority before it started helping other nations around the world. Had that not happened, the United States had initially bought 100 million doses of Pfizer, only enough to fully vaccinate 50 million Americans and may not have had access to more of Pfizer’s vaccines until after June. Instead, today over 124 million Americans are already fully vaccinated and over 158 million have had at least one dose.

The speed with which inoculations occured in the United States with emphasis on two doses of Pfizer or Moderna which offer over 94% effectiveness against the disease, has played a vital role in containing the spread and in easing many Covid restrictions in the United States while India is facing an increasingly dire crisis.

Actions taken by the government of India to prioritise its citizens for the vaccine were taken too late. And victory against the disease was professed prematurely. Massive election rallies were held with hundreds and thousands of people, all while hospitals were not prepared for another possible surge. Votes seemed more a priority than safeguarding human lives as Covid rules of daily life continued to be relaxed too early and the government was not prepared for the current situation.

The Kumbh Mela, a religious festival, was allowed which attracted nearly 5 million mostly unmasked pilgrims bathing together in close proximity in the Ganges. It is one of the largest religious festivals in India. The pilgrims then returned to their homes in various parts of the country and many tested positive. Some experts believe it became a super spreader event, perhaps one of the largest in the history of this pandemic. The head of the state in which the festival occurred, Tirath Singh Rawat, had defiantly said that the faith of the pilgrims would save them from Covid and urged people to attend in large numbers. This was days after he himself tested positive for Covid.

Planning both before and during the crisis was lacking, as even the supplies sent by other countries were not distributed efficiently and sat for days at airport hangers. Instead, the government emphasized “image” and tackling dissent and negative press rather than expressing regret over its shortcomings. Diverse views, dissent, even constructive advice is often met with paranoid harsh rebuke.

The Indian government did not take swift action and did not plan for the devastation that is currently occurring. Why was there not enough oxygen in key areas such as Delhi? Why weren’t vaccinations given more importance? Why were election rallies given preference over precautionary steps? Why was a religious rally allowed with over a million people attending, without care for distancing and mask wearing? The resulting desperation and helplessness has also made people angry. And rightfully so. Some of India’s citizens on twitter asked the government to kindly allow “mercy killings” and let people die with dignity if the government cannot help the average Indian.

To gain a handle on the situation, vaccinations of full doses must continue at increasingly higher rates. The lives of Indian citizens must be made a priority for the government over its own image and muzzling of dissent. Hiding incompetence by silencing voices and intimidating journalists is not the answer as India faces this devastating crisis. Humility, careful planning, relying on science, swift action, and compassion for the public are. The government must also continue with cautionary measures even if unpopular, including another possible lockdown to stop the deadly spread.

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The Escalating Crisis

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