Record over 1.57 lakh cases in a day as Covid 2nd wave grips India 

India celebrated the beginning of three-day Tika utsav (vaccination festival) on Sunday amid reports of a massive shortage of vaccine in several States and indication that by the end of the third quarter of this year India will receive Covid-19 vaccines from five additional manufacturers.

Meanwhile, India recorded a new all-time high daily Covid-19 count at 1,57,028 cases with Maharashtra contributing maximum at 63,294.

“India currently has 2 Covid-19 vaccines being manufactured locally: Covishield and Covaxin, and we can expect five more vaccines by Q3 2021. These vaccines are Sputnik V vaccine (in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s), Johnson & Johnson vaccine (in collaboration with Biological E), Novavax vaccine (in collaboration with Serum India), Zydus Cadila’s vaccine, and Bharat Biotech’s Intranasal Vaccine. Safety and efficacy are the Union Government’s primary concerns while granting emergency use authorisation (EUA) to any Covid-19 vaccine in the country,” news agency ANI reported, citing top Government sources.

The report said out of the almost 20 vaccines in various clinical and pre-clinical stages, Sputnik V vaccine would receive approval first, within the next ten days.

For the manufacturing of vaccine doses, the Russian Direct Investment Fund has partnered with a number of Indian pharmaceutical companies, including Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hetero Biopharma, Gland Pharma, Stelis Biopharma, and Vichrow Biotech. Sputnik V will provide a big boost in the war against Covid-19, with a production capacity of 850 million doses in the country.

“Sputnik is expected to be available latest by June if all goes well Johnson and Johnson (Bio E) will be available by August, Cadilla Zydus will also be available by August, Novavex (Serum) by September, and Nasal Vaccine (Bharat) by October,” the source said, on when the vaccines would be available for use.

The country is facing a huge shortage of vaccines and several vaccination centres have closed down in Maharashtra due to this. Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Punjab have complained of a shortage of vaccines.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the “Tika Utsav”, the vaccination drive between April 11 and 14, marks the beginning of the second big war on Covid-19. He also urged people to adhere strictly to social hygiene and the wearing of masks. In a statement, the PM urged people to keep four things in mind, including “each one, vaccinate one”, “each one, treat one” and “each one, save one”.

Elderly people or those who may not be much educated should be helped in getting the vaccine, he said, and also asked people to help those Covid-19 patients in getting treatment who may lack resources or information.  By wearing masks, people can save themselves and others, Modi added.

The PM also asked families and members of society to take lead in setting up micro containment zones in case of anyone getting the infectious disease, saying this is an important way to fight the disease in a densely populated country like India.

“Our success will be decided by how much aware we are about micro containment zones. Our success will be decided by us not stepping outside homes when not needed. Our success will be decided by that those eligible for the vaccine get it. Our success will be decided by how much we adhere to wearing masks and following other protocols,” he said.

“Anyone eligible for the vaccine should get the jab and for this society and administration have to make full efforts,” he added. Pitching for “zero vaccine waste”, he said it has to be ensured that not a single jab is wasted. “We have to move towards optimum utilisation of the country’s vaccination capacity. This is a way to augment our capacity,” he said.

In these four days of the vaccination drive, targets have to be set at personal, societal and administration’s level, all efforts be made to meet them, Modi said. “I have full confidence that with this people’s participation, awareness and fulfilling our responsibility, we will again be successful in containing coronavirus,” he added.