Destitution, Hunger and the Lockdown

ON March 24, 2020, Narendra Modi had announced that the country would go into a lockdown after four hours! This nation-wide lockdown was to last till the end of May, after which there were local lockdowns but not a general one. It brought acute hardship to millions of the working poor, among whom the migrant workers’ woes received global attention.

Declare Vaccine Manufacturing Workers as Frontline Workers And Vaccinate Them on Priority: CITU

IN an uncontrollable surge in Covid-19 cases all over the country, vaccinating the population of the country has become a top priority but as a result of insensitive and erroneous policies of the government and its decisions, there has been an enormous shortage of vaccines.

WB: Red Volunteers Provide Covid Relief

AFTER ascending the chair of the chief minister for the third time, Mamata Banerjee has done little to address the gargantuan task of combatting the rising number of patients infected by the killer coronavirus. Insufficient hospital beds, ICUs, oxygen beds, were quickly taking the situation out of control. As the numbers started spiralling, people ran from pillar to post to lay their hands on oxygen cylinders.

AP: Covid Isolation Centres Come As a Respite

THE Makineni Basavapunnaiah Vignana Kendram (MBVK) and its sister centres across the state, in a move to bring solace to the needy during the Covid-19 second wave, have opened Covid isolation centres across the state.The second wave of Covid has created havoc throughout the state and it has become difficult to secure hospital beds.

Pandemic Exposes the BJP Govt’s Governance Model

INDIA is no stranger to shortages, but there was one shortage nobody would have dreamt of in their most horrific nightmare – shortage of space and firewood at cremation grounds and burial grounds. And yet, that is a spectacle that has become routine in several cities across India. Families of those who had lost their loved ones waited for hours in queues to cremate their dead and paid astronomical sums to buy the firewood needed to do so. Many were cremated outside the crematoria.

Swearing-in of Historic Re-elected LDF Govt

CREATING a new chapter in the history of Kerala – the first time in four decades, an incumbent government got re-elected in the state with a huge majority of 99 seats in the 140 member assembly – the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front government was sworn-in on May 20, at a simple ceremony in Thiruvananthapuram while observing all Covid protocols. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, CPI(M) state secretary in-charge A Vijayaraghavan were among the dignitaries who attended the function.The 21-member cabinet has 17 new members.

Uttar Pradesh: BJP Loses in Rural Local Bodies

THE determination of the Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh to go ahead with the three-tier panchayat elections in the state has not brought it any political dividends while it has extracted a very heavy toll from its citizens. A total of 58,176-gram panchayats and 826 blocks were up for election along with 3,050 zila panchayat seats. The numbers that became vulnerable to infection in the course of the month-long campaign and the voting process itself runs into crores.

Vaccine Supplies: The Elusive Second Dose

IN the months of May and June, India will need to administer at least 125 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as second doses alone. The upper limit of manufacturing capacity in the country is about 75 million doses per month. By most accounts, the actual production is less than this. For the month of May, so far only 41 million doses—or a little more than half—have been procured, or are available for procurement. It is clear , therefore, that India faces a severe shortage of vaccines even to cover second doses, and this shortage is likely to continue for the next few months.

Patents versus the People

ON October 2, 2020, even before any vaccines against Covid-19 had been approved, India and South Africa had proposed to the WTO that a temporary patent waiver should be granted on all such innovations. In the following months, 100 countries had supported this demand. And on May 5, the US, usually the most ardent defender of the patent system, agreed to a temporary patent waiver on anti-Covid vaccines, committing itself to “text-based negotiations at the WTO”.The basic argument for such a move arises from the urgent need at present to expand vaccine production.

A Caring World Needs a Sharing World to End the Covid-19 Pandemic

AFTER three months of dithering, the Biden administration has supported South Africa and India’s move in WTO for a temporary waiver of patent rights on Covid-19 vaccines. This had the overwhelming support of countries and public health groups in the world. The opposition is now from EU countries, which had earlier tried to portray themselves as more progressive than the US. Under Trump, that was not difficult.

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