|THE DEN|
The whole world has been suffering from novel coronavirus since December 2019. From that to now, we all have been through a lot yet the pandemic is far from done. In April 2021, India was hit by the second wave of covid, it was considered as the third leading country to register the highest number of deaths. More than 6.6 million cases of corona were registered in India in the month of April itself. There was shortage of beds, oxygen and injections in the hospitals. People even went out of state to get treatment, but all efforts were in vain owing to the similar conditions in other states as well.
The evolution of symptoms During the second wave, symptoms of the virus were completely different than before. Other than loss of smell and fever, people also suffered from upset stomach, headache and fatigue. India reported rise in asymptomatic cases amid the second wave of the pandemic while some people felt infected but the reports showed a negative results inspite of repeated testing.
The worst infected states in the second wave were Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The second wave catalysts
Political meetings, protests, election campaigns and religious gatherings were held despite of the fact that cases were on its peak.
The careless attitude of people towards basic protocols; No- one maintained social distancing or wore proper masks in the public.
Lack of vaccines and public awareness, people still failed to understand the fact that getting vaccinated is important to bring this pandemic to an end. Until or unless 75% of the population is fully vaccinated; these waves will keep on occurring
Considering the population of 135 billions, it’s improbable to handle them but of course not impossible if we it becomes common objective. Despite everything, one of the main reasons was the careless attitude of people post the first wave. There are still some groups denying the existence of the Corona Virus altogether.
Government knew that second wave was inevitable but still no arrangements were made. However, at the time of need people came forward and helped each other. Instagram influencers and many renowned celebrities and personalities also posted daily and kept people updated. Many YouTubers did online streams and donated a huge amount to the cause.
The vaccination paradigm In India, covid-19 vaccine was launched on January 16, 2021.More than 100 million doses of vaccines were approved i.e., COVISHIELD AND COVAXIN. Both the vaccines were approved by Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). COVISHIELD has been manufactured by THE SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA while COVAXIN has been manufactured by THE BHARAT BIOTECH in association with the INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH and THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF VIROLOGY.
0.5ml in the upper arm region is the dosage of both the vaccines. After having first dose of Covishield one have to wait for 12-16 weeks i.e. 84 days to get the second dose while for Covaxin you only has to wait for 4-6 weeks. The efficiency of Covishield is 90% whilst for Covaxin it’s 81%. After the launch, the first group involved healthcare and frontline workers. The vaccination program began on JANUARY 16,2021 operating 3,006 vaccination centres on the onset. On first day, 1,65,714 people were vaccinated. Within the first 3 days, 6,31,417 people were vaccinated. Out of these 0.18% were reported with side effects and only 9 people (0.002%) were admitted to hospitals for observation and treatment.
By March 1, out of 30 million, which was the original goal, only 14 million healthcare and frontline workers were vaccinated. The second group was of people between the age of 45 and 60 years and any left out healthcare and frontline workers. Online registration via AROGYA SETU APP and CO-WIN website began on March 1 and from April 1 eligibility was extended to all residents over the age of 45 years. On April 8, with the beginning of 2nd wave, PM Modi called for a four day TEEKA UTSAV from 11th to 14th April. By the end of the utsav, India reached a total of over 111 million vaccine doses to date.
There is still a shortage of vaccines around the country but the outcome has been 11% of Indian population is partially inoculated whereas, 3% of Indian population has been jabbed with both doses.
India has also donated over 5.5 million vaccines to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. There are also reports of adverse events, a total of 617 serious events were reported until March 29, of these, 180 cases resulted in death. In more than half of the examined cases of death, the cause of death was found to be acute coronary syndrome.
Vaccination program was going in the whole, yet the second wave hit us hard. There has been speculation of the upcoming third wave. Whilst we disagree about the timeline of the upcoming third wave there remains no question as to requirement of the drastic change in the People’s behaviour.
LET’S (NOT) GET TOGETHER BEFORE THIRD WAVE INTRUDES INTO OUR LIVES !!
From No Hospital Beds to No Rooms in the Hills
After months of being trapped into houses, people freaked out and decided to bring some liveliness into their idle lives. The occupancy in the hotels has increased massively at hill station hotspots including Shimla, Kufri, Narkanda, Manali and other places. Hotels in Shimla and Manali were seemed packed to capacity after Himachal Pradesh announced ease in covid-19 restrictions. Many expressed concern and anger over these impatient tourists as all the covid-19 protocols were flouted.
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