India ought to muster all the help it can, from within and abroad, to tame the pernicious virus

The pandemic’s second wave has created havoc in the country and the gravity of the situation can be gauged from the Supreme Court’s assertion that it is a “national emergency-like situation”. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the country during his monthly radio programme “Mann Ki Baat”, called it a “storm” that has “shaken the nation”. With the COVID-19 cases hitting new peaks each passing day, the country is faced with an acute shortage of medical oxygen, hospital beds and essential medicines. With the Centre scheduled to throw open vaccination to all adults from May 1, the Government hopes to rein in the raging pandemic but four Opposition-ruled States — Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Jharkhand — claim that they would not be able to launch the drive on May Day because they don’t have enough vaccines. This unfortunate development against the planned mitigation of the spread of the virus has put a spoke in the wheels of the Union Government’s protracted battle against COVID-19. Not only the availability of the vaccines but also their pricing has become a bone of contention for the States.

The vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, would be provided to the States and private hospitals at a much higher rate than what the Centre pays to procure these. Meanwhile, the Centre is tapping all the international cooperation it can to ameliorate the critical situation. Maybe it’s time for India to reap the dividends of its unconditional help to other countries — supplying them with vaccines, medicines and other essentials — when they were in a morass of despair. The US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, conveyed to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that just as India had aided the US when its hospitals were crippled by the pandemic, Washington is determined to help New Delhi in its time of need. The US, UK and the European Union have pledged to help India with vaccines, oxygen tankers and concentrators, PPE kits, ventilators and so on. According to the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, India will soon receive at least 12 ISO containers to help transport oxygen within the country. In the race against time, we need not just global cooperation but also teamwork among the States and the Centre to defeat the biggest enemy of humankind in living memory.