Money9 Edit | Shrug off vaccine scepticism to overcome pandemic-led woes

• Follow

The spectre of the second wave has turned into a devastating reality with deaths, queues outside hospitals, oxygen shortage and inadequate healthcare infrastructure being reported from everywhere. Beyond this vast wasteland, however, a few early green shoots of hope are visible in the distance. Covishield and Covaxin, the vaccines in use here seem to be working. The share of people who have tested positive after receiving both jabs of Covaxin is 0.04% and that for Covishield is 0.03%. The number is small though certainly not negligible.

Providing relief to millions, state governments are announcing that they will continue to fund the vaccines at government hospitals, thanks to the pressures of competitive politics and canons of welfare state. Shielding the people at the base of the pyramid became all the more important after Serum Institute of India, one of the two vaccine producers in the country announced that each vaccine will cost Rs 400 at the state government level and Rs 600 at the private points. If a family has four members to be vaccinated it would entail a minimum expenditure of Rs 3,200 if they had to pay. Now it is incumbent upon the Centre to ensure that vaccines are present in abundance through ramped up productions and imports.

Despite the second wave, that is bigger than the first, the death rate is not rising in India. Last week it was 1.23 and this week it is 1.16. The recovery rate in India (84.46%) is higher than that in the US (77.2%), though it is lower than Brazil (89.5%).

While it is clear that there is no room for complacency, there is also perhaps no need to panic. In times of pestilence, panic mongering turns into a dreadful and unconscious hobby. Instead, let’s overcome vaccine shyness and queue up following safety protocols.