As the Covid-19 pandemic is proving to be more ‘hot to handle’ with each passing week both for the world as well as India, two revelations that came over the last two days will add to the disquiet. WHO’s Emergencies Head has issued a warning on Friday that the global death toll could double to 20 lakh from the current figure which is about to touch 10 lakh shortly or may be even higher before a vaccine actually arrives. If the caveat is meant for the whole world, on Saturday, the chief of Serum Institute of India, the vaccine maker currently conducting phase 3 clinical trials of the vaccine developed jointly by AstraZeneca and University of Oxford and plans to manufacture 1 billion doses has raised a vital question regarding the vaccination’s implementation in the country. Through a tweet, he has drawn attention of the Central government regarding its upcoming financial responsibility for successfully conducting the exercise which is going to be mammoth and most-challenging in the country’s public medical health history. While responses from the government’s side are expected to come sooner or later, that the forthcoming challenge is going to be a monumental one is clear. In this regard, it needs mentioning that Covid vaccination is going to be more difficult than the universal immunization schemes rolled out in the country so far, as it will be a matter of a race against time which actually means vaccinating the largest number of people within the least-possible time.
Despite the fact that the daily national caseload has dipped below 90K mark for eight successive days, in global context, it’s for 21 back-to-back days that India has topped the chart of being the largest single-day contributor of new cases and it will take just 6-7 days more for its death toll to cross  the 1 lakh mark. The world health watchdog hasn’t spelt or hinted any country or countries that are going to be the ‘bigger contributors’ of the feared additional 10 lakh casualties. But India must take it more seriously than other countries as its current trends are very alarming and it will be a national disgrace if it ultimately proves to be an incompetent global stakeholder in dealing with the pandemic. Serum India chief’s tweet has been specific as he has given the estimate that about Rs 80,000 crore will be needed for the entire execution process which will involve procurement and distribution with vaccine manufacturers from India and overseas. The ‘reminder’ of the approaching responsibility has come at the apt juncture as time will be too short.
A huge challenge awaits the nation and it’s going to be a solid test of sensibility, efficiency and zeal. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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