Just a few weeks ago , the daily count of new cases of corona virus infections had been steadily falling, touching an average of below 20,000 but all of a sudden , we are witnessing an unprecedented surge in the number of infected persons and of all age groups unlike last year when it mostly attacked the older people and those with weak immunity . The scenario has put an extra ordinary pressure on the medical infrastructure which had been revamped and made conducive to tackle the situation emerging out of COVID-19 pandemic last year. However, there can be no two opinions in admitting that the fresh wave of the virus reported to be in its new variants after having ”treacherously” changed its shape, is not only spreading fast and engulfing more people across the country including Jammu and Kashmir, but shortages of life saving oxygen devices etc and other related problems have posed a big challenge. Should we be not fully prepared with a firm resolve to overcome it, is what the Prime Minister in his address to the nation on April 20 has asserted. He , however, assured the people about the vaccine development and supply as also “all stake holders were working collectively” to improve upon the availability and supply of oxygen cylinders . Could we expect comparatively better results in a few days remains to be seen in that the onus was largely on the Central Government and State /UT Governments and equally also on the general public. However, an assurance from the Prime Minister that the manufacturers of medicines , vaccines etc will get all possible help and logistic support from the Government in upping the production levels and that not only the public sector but the private sector also will play even more active role in the vaccine drive, should allay all fears of any type of apprehensions. Now that the Government has agreed in principle to go in for vaccination drive to include all above the age group of 18 years from May 1 to arrest the spread of the fresh wave , the decision was loaded with one of the biggest steps to fight the threatening virus. So far an elastic approach is concerned in respect of vaccination drive, the Central Government has chosen a more taken the same rather in a liberalised form. Not only that the vaccines would be available in the open market but their pricing too would be quite favourable in that 50 per cent of supply would go the Central Government . From that “quota” , it can provide free of cost or at much cheaper cost vaccines to the identified groups , those at present and the ones identified in the coming days. Even states can do that as the UP Government has decided to provide free of cost vaccines to all in the above 18 years age group. So aggressive vaccination drive , enhanced supply of medicines and oxygen devices and arrangements of additional capacities would be all pressed into meeting the new challenge. Last year’s solutions like “complete Lockdown” , which was totally unavoidable looking to the peculiar and novel situation having sprouted all of a sudden due to the ”arrival” of the virus , most probably cannot fully answer this year’s challenges . Restraining people from visiting overcrowded places , bazaars, malls , shopping centres, attending marriages and other social functions in large numbers etc can be done in other ways also by which contacts and the resultant infections could be contained. In fact , the PM keeping in mind the associated problems that the lockdown brought in its wake like affecting the livelihood of large number of migrant workers , has advised the states to use it as the “last resort”. Utter confusion and chaos faced by the migrant workers last year was to be kept in mind and the advice of the Prime Minister to the states to convince them to stay put at their places of work with “a guarantee for their lives and livelihood” needs to be heeded to by the state administrations . Creating any room for panic and spreading a feeling of insecurity and resorting to mass migration from places of work back to their homes must be avoided by all means . It has to be borne in mind that an estimated number of 44 lakh vaccines out of 10 crore given to states are reported to be wasted which in the ruling of the Delhi High Court is termed as “only bad planning”. This has to be prevented at all costs. We have , again , to give no room and no space to despair, fear , insecurity or any type of panic but gather all strength to fight and defeat the grave challenge of the pandemic. We have to save our country from phases of total lockdown and instead as the PM hopefully expected from the states “focus on micro containment zones”, which alone could ”improve the health of the economy and take care of the health of the people.”
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