Category: Community

India’s actual death toll from covid-19 could range between 1.3 million to a staggering 5 million, with even the most conservative estimate putting its tally at more than double the U.S., the highest recorded in the world so far. The numbers, derived from research models and local authority data, range from three to 10 times the country’s official count, adding to evidence that the true cost of India’s outbreak has been massively under-reported. As corpses floated in the Ganges, a river sacred to millions of Hindus, and crematoriums and graveyards were overwhelmed, skepticism grew over the death toll of around 420,000 recorded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which has used the ostensibly low mortality rate to defend India’s covid track record.

Bloomberg approached authorities in about half of India’s 28 states and territories seeking death data from April and May for the last two years and analyzed figures from researchers and experts. The result is clear: the real toll has been vastly underestimated because of a combination of under-counting, a backlog in the civil registration system and a lack of testing leading to covid deaths being classified as other conditions like heart disease. The findings dovetail with estimates from researchers around the world. Bhramar Mukherjee, a professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, has devoted much of the past year to modeling India’s pandemic. Her studies suggest the death toll is around 1.3 million up to June 15.

Rukmini S, a leading data journalist, has written that the numbers she’s gathered suggest a death toll closer to 2.5 million. A report from the Washington-based Center for Global Development think tank released Tuesday, July 20, 2021, studied data from three different sources, finding that excess deaths – a term public health experts use to describe mortality from all causes during a crisis that is above what would have been expected in ‘normal’ conditions – likely ranged between 3.4 million to 4.9 million.

“Regardless of source and estimate, actual deaths during the covid pandemic are likely to have been an order of magnitude greater than the official count,” said the report, co-authored by Arvind Subramanian, former chief economic adviser to the Indian government and two other researchers. “True deaths are likely to be in the several millions, not hundreds of thousands, making this arguably India’s worst human tragedy since partition and independence.”

The federal Health Ministry in a July 14 press release called media reports on higher covid death counts “speculative.” India’s Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told Parliament Tuesday that “detailed guidelines for reporting of deaths have been issued by Union Health Ministry to all states and union territories.” The ministry did not respond to written questions from Bloomberg – instead it released a statement Thursday, July 22, saying reports of higher death tolls were misleading. “Given the robust and statute based death registration system in India, while some cases could go undetected as per the principles of infectious disease and its management, missing out on the deaths is unlikely,” it said.

Despite widespread reporting on oxygen shortages across India as the second wave of infections hit the country in April and May, the minister added that “no deaths due to lack of oxygen has been specifically reported” by local governments. The states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Odisha combined have close to 300,000 excess deaths in the six months to June, according to all-cause mortality numbers analyzed by Bloomberg – more than 5.5 times their official covid death data of about 53,000. That already represents three-quarters of India’s official toll, though they are just four among 28 states and territories and 17% of the nation’s 1.4 billion people.

State government officials say in most cases that people who had not been tested or had tested negative – but showed coronavirus symptoms – were not counted in the official toll. In rural areas, many people went untested, untreated and ultimately uncounted, contrary to federal government guidelines. At least six states did not respond to requests for all-cause death data. The figures paint a very different picture to the narrative presented by Modi, who has said that India handled the outbreak better than any other country, pointing to its low mortality rate as evidence. Modi’s popularity has fallen as the country’s health infrastructure almost collapsed: his government’s approval ratings dropped from 75% in 2019 to 51% this year, according to polling company LocalCircles’s survey released May 29. While under-reporting of covid fatalities is a global phenomenon, the problem is aggravated in India because deaths were already poorly counted before the pandemic. Only 92% of all deaths are registered and only a fifth of those are properly medically certified.

“Not capturing a death is dishonor to a life,” said Mukherjee. “Without relating the deaths and hospitalizations to vaccine and variant data, we will never be able to grasp the effectiveness of vaccines or clinical lethality of the variant.” Historically India has published ‘all-cause’ mortality data every two years, Rukmini said, but noted that she and other reporters have recently accessed this data via local sources. It is “available and should be made public. We don’t need to wait for two years.”

Across some of India’s most populous states, local reporters and non-governmental organizations have pieced together a more accurate picture of the pandemic. The eastern state of Bihar saw nearly 75,000 unexplained deaths in the first five months of 2021, most during the deadly second wave of the pandemic. That represents almost 10 times the state’s official covid death figure, the news channel NDTV reported. “In Madhya Pradesh, the state bulletin gives one figure, while the district bulletin gives an entirely different number, while crematoriums are telling a different story,” said Amulya Nidhi, the national co-convener of Jan SwasthyaAbhiyan or People’s Health Movement. His organization’s data shows that in April and May, about 14,695 people lost their lives to covid-19 in 20 of the state’s 51 districts, while the official figure is only 2,425.

From January to May this year, Andhra Pradesh excess deaths may have jumped as much as 34 times, the Hindu reported, citing civil registration data. Unaccounted deaths also have been reported from Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Even the capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai, where record-keeping is generally better, have large unexplained death numbers. In May and June, some states including Bihar and Maharashtra reconciled their death data, pushing the country’s cumulative mortality toll up.

Not all ‘excess deaths’ have to be covid-19 deaths, but most of them likely are because they occurred during the virus surge, said ChinmayTumbe, assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and author of the book ‘The Age of Pandemics (1817-1920): How they shaped India and the World.’ “The problem of course is that the government is going to maintain that we have a great reporting system,” Tumbe said. “I’m afraid that what the data shows is that’s clearly not true.”

Fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, Covid cases are rising in almost all the 50 states in the United States, and with less thanhalf the US population fully vaccinated, public health chiefs warned of an “extraordinary surge” coast to coast. Covid are going up, so are the number of hospitalizations and deaths.  Data compiled by the New York Times showed that the average rate measured over the past 2 weeks was rising in all 50 states – varying from a dramatic 373% in Tennessee to 10% in Maine. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases official, said there had been an extraordinary surge in the Delta variant of Covid-19 – which is more transmissible – around the world, including in the US.

Jeff Zients, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus team, confirmed that unvaccinated Americans “account for virtually all recent Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths”. Four states that are currently seeing high increases in Covid-19 cases have accounted for over 40% of the total Covid cases seen in the country this past week, Zients said. One in five cases occurred in Florida, in which about 50% of the state is fully vaccinated. “Each Covid-19 death is tragic, and those happening now are even more tragic because they are preventable,” he said. Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Nevada are also seeing surges in infections in many parts.

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist and research scientist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan has pointed to a compelling preprint study out of China recently that showed people who were exposed to the Delta variant got sick fast. The study has found that people infected with the Delta variant are shedding way more virus, which could explain why it’s so contagious. Rasmussen says the good news is that it still transmits in the same way as the original strain, so all of those mitigation tools like masking and handwashing and social distancing – all of those still work to block Delta. And the vaccines are still highly effective against this variant.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) warns that new COVID-19 cases are on a sharp rise, up 70%, fueled by the Delta variant. Officials expect more spread in the nation’s unvaccinated population. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain far below last winter’s peak and vaccines are effective against Delta. But rising cases prompted the official, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to declare in a briefing on July 16^th that the trend is clear. Unvaccinated people are at risk. She pleaded with Americans to get fully vaccinated.

Describing the new trend across the nation, Walensky says it’s a little bit of a mixed picture. Cases are rising in some places like California and New York that have pretty good vaccination rates. But she says by far, the most spread is happening in places where not many people are vaccinated. In fact, 97% of people who get so sick with COVID-19 that they have to be hospitalized are unvaccinated. Officials are concerned by these numbers and point out that sickness and death is avoidable. COVID-19 is now a vaccine-preventable disease, and people who’ve been holding out should get vaccinated.

During the press briefing, Walensky said that in places that are hot spots where there’s low vaccination rates, it may make sense for local officials to consider masking requirements until the vaccine campaign can catch up. The Los Angelus County has mandated indoor masking, including vaccinated people, and  so we’ll have to see if other places follow suit. “We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk. Communities that are fully vaccinated are generally faring well,” she said.

Most areas of the country are seeing a new surge in COVID-19 cases as variants of the virus serve as a painful reminder that the pandemic is not over despite eased restrictions. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have documented an increase in average daily cases over the past two weeks. But nine in particular, including seven in the South, have seen cases at least double in that time period, according to data from The New York Times.

The seven-day-average of new cases was 13,859 as of July 6, up 21% compared to two weeks earlier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cases attributed to the most recent days might rise further because of a reporting lag following the July 4 holiday weekend. The spike comes as the Delta variant, which is more transmissible than any previous strain, accounted for around 52% of cases in the two weeks ending July 3, according to the CDC. Despite having among the highest availability of vaccines of any country, America’s immunization campaign has dropped off steeply since April. President Joe Biden narrowly missed his goal of having 70% adults at least partly vaccinated by Independence Day, with the current figure at 67%. Regions in the Midwest and South with lower vaccination rates are experiencing higher case rates than regions with high vaccination rates such as the Northeast, a trend that has become increasingly clear in recent weeks.

A hospital in Springfield, Missouri, ran out of ventilators to treat hospitalized COVID patients over the weekend, local media reported. The city of 160,000’s two hospitals were treating 213 COVID-19 patients as of Monday, up from 168 on Friday and 31 on May 24, the Kansas City Star said. “The trajectory that we’re likely to see is two different flavours of the pandemic in the United States, one in which it’s more of a problem in places where there’s a high level of unvaccinated individuals,” Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security told AFP.

“In other parts of the country, the pandemic is largely going to be something that’s managed as more of an ordinary respiratory virus,” he added. Mr. Adalja said that even with Delta becoming the dominant strain he envisioned a “decoupling” of hospitalisations and deaths from rising cases in highly vaccinated regions, as has been seen in Israel. “Increasingly, I think we have to start to shift our focus away from cases and really look at hospitalizations, because that’s what the vaccine was designed to do — it was designed to decouple cases from hospitalization,” he said.

Real world data has shown that the Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines have retained high efficacy against severe COVID and the same is almost certainly true of the Moderna vaccine, according to experts. Most areas of the country are seeing a new surge in COVID-19 cases as variants of the virus serve as a painful reminder that the pandemic is not over despite eased restrictions. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have documented an increase in average daily cases over the past two weeks. But nine in particular, including seven in the South, have seen cases at least double in that time period, according to data from The New York Times.

In Los Angeles County, officials recorded more than 1,000 new cases for three consecutive days this week for the first time since March. Arkansas also reported more than 1,000 new cases for a third straight day Friday. “The majority of states have large swaths of population that are still not protected,” said Amber D’Souza, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She said that despite tremendous progress on vaccinations, the new data show the outbreaks are mostly hitting areas with lower vaccination rates. Those spikes are due in part to the spread of the more transmissible delta variant and loosened COVID-19 restrictions, D’Souza said.

“We expect to see continuing surges of infection until we are able to bring vaccination rates higher than they currently are,” she added. Overall, the U.S. is now averaging more than 19,000 new cases for the first time since the end of May, marking a 60 percent increase compared with two weeks ago. A third of those cases were documented in five states — Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Nevada — CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner told the network Monday.

Throughout the pandemic, rises in coronavirus cases have typically preceded spikes in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. While the rate of COVID-19 deaths is still decreasing in the U.S., data from the Times shows an 11 percent increase in average daily hospitalizations over the past two weeks. During that same period, vaccination rates have plummeted to an average of 500,000 a day, the lowest level since President Biden took office.

Months after Biden declared vaccines were available to all Americans 18 and over, 58.9 percent of adults are fully vaccinated, as are 48 percent of all Americans, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccination rates of the five states with the highest daily average of new coronavirus cases — Arkansas, Missouri, Florida, Louisiana and Nevada — are all below the national percentages. D’Souza said government officials need to focus on localized data “because within a state often there really are different stories happening with vaccination and therefore with infection.” And even with the recent surge, she said the nationwide case count is not expected to reach 2020 levels, in large part because 79 percent of those 65 and older have been fully vaccinated.

“There are a lot of reasons for hope,” she said. “That being said, things have stalled this past month. We are seeing reduced vaccination and increased infection, and that is the worry of what that forebodes for the fall.” Experts have said that unvaccinated people are more at risk to develop serious illness and die from the delta variant that now makes up a majority of cases in the U.S. Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, said last week that more than 99 percent of people who died of COVID-19 in June in the U.S. were not vaccinated.

Several polls have shown that Republicans are less likely to get vaccinated than Democrats. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that the vaccination gap between counties that voted for former President Trump in 2020 and those that voted for Biden has nearly doubled in two months. Efforts to narrow that gap face stiff competition from some vaccine opponents.“The government was hoping that they could sort of sucker 90 percent of the population into getting vaccinated. And it isn’t happening,” said conservative author Alex Berenson, drawing applause at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas.

Some officials are now weighing whether to take action to combat COVID-19 case surges. Los Angeles County and St. Louis County are recommending all people wear masks indoors, even if they are vaccinated. In Mississippi, the state’s Department of Health called on residents aged 65 and older and those with chronic medical conditions to avoid all indoor mass gatherings. On Sunday, Fauci told CNN’s “State of the Union” that there should be more local mandates to prevent COVID-19 spread, calling it a “life and death situation.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a briefing Monday that the federal government will “certainly support” local leaders if they decide to institute restrictions “to keep their community safe.”Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) told ABC’s “This Week” that he plans to travel to six cities in his state this week in an effort to combat vaccine hesitancy. “We’ve got to overcome that mistrust because it — Republicans, Democrats, we all suffer the same consequence if the delta variant hits us and we’re not vaccinated,” Hutchinson said.

President Joe Biden has appointed an Indian-American health policy expert who served on the leadership of the Biden-Harris transition Health and Human Services (HHS) agency review team. Dr. Meena Seshamani, 43, will be acting as Deputy Administrator and the Director of the US Centre for Medicare. She will lead the Centre’s efforts in serving the people 65 or older, people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease that rely on Medicare coverage.

She received her B.A. with Honours in Business Economics from Brown University, her M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and her Ph.D. in Health Economics from the University of Oxford, where she was a Marshall Scholar. She completed her residency training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and practiced as a head and neck surgeon at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco.

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, an administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), said, “Dr. Meena Seshamani brings her diverse background as a health care executive, health economist, physician and health policy expert to CMS.” Dr. Seshamani also brings decades of policy experience to her role, including recently serving on the leadership of the Biden-Harris transition HHS agency review team.

Brooks-LaSure added, “Providing quality health care to the people who rely on Medicare and advancing health equity as we do it is a priority for CMS. I am delighted to say Dr. Seshamani will bring her unique perspective on how health policy impacts the real lives of patients to her leadership role as Deputy Administrator and Director of the Centre for Medicare,” she said.

Seshamani most recently served as Vice President of Clinical Care Transformation at MedStar Health, where she conceptualized, designed, and implemented population health and value-based care initiatives and served on the senior leadership of the 10 hospital, 300+ outpatient care site health system, a media release said. The care models and service lines under her leadership, including community health, geriatrics, and palliative care, have been nationally recognized by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and others.

Prior to MedStar Health, she was director of the office of Health Reform at the US Department of Health and Human Services, where she drove strategy and led implementation of the Affordable Care Act across the department, including coverage policy, delivery system reform, and public health policy, the statement said.

New research from Washington University suggests mRNA vaccines could offer years of protection as long as variants don’t sidestep them. Immune cells are still organizing to fight the coronavirus months after inoculation, scientists reported.

Ever since COVID-19 vaccines first became available, speculation about how long they might offer protection has widely varied, with some speculating that immunity could wane and booster shots could be required.But a new study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, indicates that mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are leading to an immune reaction that could last years, if not sidestepped by a variant. “To me, it was very reassuring that the vaccine seems to be generating a very durable and robust response,” said Dr. Jackson Turner, an immunologist at the Washington University School of Medicine, who was on the team that conducted the study.

Dr. Turner says the research team followed 41 people who received an mRNA vaccine over the course of six months. Of those, 14 participants provided periodic samples of their lymph nodes in order to measure the immune reaction set in to motion by the vaccine.  What they found caught them a bit off guard.

“We actually had to modify the existing study because we kind of expected the response in the lymph nodes to have tapered off a bit by now,” Dr. Turner said. “We did a very similar study with the influenza vaccine, and we saw that by six months, pretty much everything had wound down and was back looking like a normal lymph node. So we were a bit surprised to see that even 12 weeks after the last dose of vaccine these are still going very, very strongly.”

That activity in the lymph nodes is critical because after receiving the mRNA vaccine, that’s where the body produces a specialized structure called the germinal center. Dr. Turner says the germinal center acts as a kind of boot camp for cells to develop various ways to recognize and bind to the SARS COV-2 spike proteins. The longer that boot camp remains active, the better chances vaccinated people have of fighting off variants.

Kent Erdahl: “We’ve seen that this virus can adapt, but your research has found that our bodies are kind of adapting too if we’ve had the vaccine?”  Dr. Turner: “Yes.”

And even after lymph node activity returns to normal, Dr. Turner says those specially trained cells are likely to remain for years. “We know that these cells can migrate to the bone marrow and persist for decades, generating antibodies,” he said. Dr. Turner says there is still a chance that booster shots could be needed if a variant escapes our immune response.

Because the study only looked at mRNA vaccines, he said questions also remain for those who received the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. “I would expect that similar structure are generated in the lymph nodes of people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” He said. “I am not sure if they would last as long, but that is certainly an open question and one we hope to address in the future.”

With the first day of the new vaccination policy by the Government of India coming into effect from Monday, June 21stst, India administered a record 8.596 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines. The new policy, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, ends a complex system introduced just last month of buying and distributing vaccines that overburdened states and led to inequities in how the shots were handed out.

The new vaccination policy, which took considerable prodding and criticism from the Supreme Court before the Centre decided to act, will see the government purchasing 75% of the vaccines produced by the manufacturers and distributing it free to states, based on their population, disease burden and vaccination progress, with the remaining 25% production allocated for private hospitals. However, experts say that India needs to administer a minimum of 1 crore doses a day in order to inoculate its 95-crore strong adult population by December. Moreover, vaccine availability is still patchy. That also explains why over 82% of the doses administered are the first shot.India’s vaccination record has been middling among the world’s 30 most populous countries with a rank 16 among them in terms of doses per 100 population. At 19.6 as of June 19, India’s level is less than a fifth of what the UK has achieved.

India is a key supplier of vaccines around the world, and its missteps at home have led it to stop exports of shots, leaving millions of people around the world waiting unprotected. Only about 3.5% of Indians are fully vaccinated and while supporters hope the policy change will make vaccine distribution more equitable, poor planning means shortages will continue. The rank remains 16 among these 30 countries even if we were to consider the proportion of the population fully vaccinated, but in this case the gulf between the UK (45.8%) and India (3.6%) is considerably wider.

While the government expects vaccine availability in India to be ramped up to 1 crore doses a day from July and August, there’s little certainty of the timeline being adhered to even as vaccine manufacturers try to scale up production. Unlike other cookie-cutter products, scaling up vaccine production is a complex process — in fact, just the process of filling up 10 lakh doses into vials takes 2 days following which, quality checks on the vials will consume another fortnight, before they can be shipped out. And that doesn’t include the production process which itself takes days — 100 machines working 30 hours will be able to produce 30 lakh doses.

The Delta variant, which appears to be both more transmissible and cause more severe disease, is spreading more rapidly in U.S. counties with lower vaccination rates, according to new research from genomics firm Helix soon to be published as a preprint study, CNN reports. The results underscore the urgency of vaccinating as many Americans as possible before the Delta variant becomes the dominant form of the coronavirus in the country. Brazil has officially reported more than 500,000 total COVID-19 deaths, per TIME’s tracker, more than any country aside from the U.S. However, as in other countries, Brazil’s true number of deaths is likely higher than the official count. The new milestone comes amid mounting domestic opposition to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who critics say failed to adequately handle the country’s outbreak

Expressing happiness over the fact that 80 lakh people got the vaccine jab on Monday, the Prime Minister praised the frontline Corona warriors for their hard work. “Today’s record-breaking vaccination numbers are gladdening. The vaccine remains our strongest weapon to fight Covid-19. Congratulations to those who got vaccinated and kudos to all the frontline warriors working hard to ensure so many citizens got the vaccine. Well done India!” he tweeted. India’s cumulative vaccination coverage has exceeded 28.80 ll crores on Monday, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Monday after 80 lakh dose was administered on single day.

According to the data released by the Union Health Ministry on Monday morning, a total of 28,00,36,898 vaccine doses have been administered in the country through 38,24,408 sessions, including 30,39,996 doses on Sunday. As many as 1,01,25,143 healthcare workers (HCWs) have received their first dose while 70,72,595 have been administered the second dose. Similarly, 1,71,73,646 frontline workers (FLWs) have been inoculated with the first dose while 90,51,173 have received their second dose.

A total of 5,59,54,551 people aged between 18 and 44 years have received their first dose, while 12,63,242 have been inoculated with the second dose. As many as 8,07,11,132 people aged between 45 and 59 years have received their first dose, while 1,27,56,299 have been administered the second dose. A total of 6,47,77,302 people aged over 60 years have received their first dose, while 2,11,51,815 have been inoculated with the second dose. (With inputs from IANS)

The Federation of Indian Associations NY-NJ-CT, in partnership with the Consulate General of India-New York, organized a group yoga event on Sunday, June 20, to mark the 7th International Day of Yoga. Nearly 200 participants joined the hybrid event, with over 120 joining online. The Liberty State Park, with the backdrop of the majestic Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline, provided the perfect venue for the event.

Consul General of India NY Randhir Jaiswal, who briefly attended the event with DCG NY Shatrughan Sinha, appreciated and encouraged the participants.Celebrity yoga instructor, Reiki healer, and health coach Thara Natalie gave yoga lessons for all ages. She also shared health tips during the one-hour session. Singer and song writer Jay Sean was the guest of honor while former Miss America and American public speaker and actress Nina Davuluri, also a yoga practitioner, compered the event.

Lauding the efforts of event chair Parveen Bansal and his team in putting together the event, FIA president Anil Bansal said, “It is heartening to see people giving due importance to yoga. It is an ancient Indian discipline that purifies the mind and body with regular practice. Just like this morning, I hope everyone here continues to find time to invest in their health and well-being.”

“Last year was tough for everyone. Now, the community is slowly reeling out of the pandemic. The benefits of yoga are known to the entire world. We hope this event can give a positive push to our attempts to get back to the pre-pandemic days,” said FIA chairman Ankur Vaidya. He expressed his gratitude to CGI NY Jaiswal and DCG Sinha for their continued support in making the Yoga Day celebration a success.FIA provided complimentary coffee, munchkins, water, T-shirt, and yoga mat to all participants in attendance and held an attendee raffle in which 5 Google home devices were raffled as thank-you giveaways to the attendees.

FIA has been hosting Yoga Day event since 2015. The United Nations had, in December 2014, proclaimed June 21 every year as the International Day of Yoga. The FIA has been organizing yoga events to mark the day since 2015 when it was celebrated globally for the first time. Last year, with the Covid-19 pandemic raging across the world, the entire event was held online.

Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson argued for the importance of democracy, inclusiveness and unity in crises at an event calling for efforts to help the COVID-hit in India. Jackson, the founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, discussed his views in a short speech to celebrate the federal Juneteenth holiday at a press conference June 18 at the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco. He also discussed his ongoing advocacy for helping India, where the coronavirus has claimed about 400,000 lives and impacted about 30 million. The event was co-hosted by Indiaspora founder M. Rangaswami.

The Indian American community has hailed Jackson pushing President Joe Biden to send COVID vaccines to India. “The pandemic is global and it’s real,” he said. “We have to realize we have to work together … and save millions of lives in India.” Jackson, a disciple of Martin Luther King Jr. and a believer in Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence, is dealing with Parkinson’s disease but looked active during the press conference. He stressed his India connections, pointing out that he had been there three times.

Asked what he thought about civil rights in India under the current administration there, he told the media, “Democracy cannot just be a word; democracy is about who you care for, your people and education. We are human beings … in jeopardy. I think in India the government is stable but people are poor – too poor… We need to make it right,” Jackson said. Sounding hopeful about working with the Narendra Modi government, he said, “I think the moment we talk [with Modi], we can act together on economic policy and democracy. Modi and I should work together on democracy,” Jackson said. He asked the Indian diaspora to support the poor in India with no homes, work or jobs, saying, “We members of the diaspora are blessed to be in good shape.”

Dr. Vijay G. Prabhakar, Rainbow PUSH Coalition global Ambassador and chairman of the American Association of Multi Ethnic Physicians, USA, has been working with Jackson. He told indica News he was surprised and pleased when Jackson called him in early May to discuss his support of India. Jackson and Dr. Prabhakar met President Biden and urged him to support India. The president has since pledged that of the 6 million he promised to send abroad, 2 million vaccine doses would go to India.

“That will be done by the end of June 2021,” Dr. Prabhakar told indica News on the sidelines of the press conference. He added that the doses, all provided free would include vaccines from AstraZeneca (after FDA approval), Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. There are more 60 million AstraZeneca stockpiled and which could be distributed from July 1. “Our request today is to have the Biden-Harris administration, through Jackson, to at least give us 20 million vaccines in the next 60 days,” Dr. Prabhakar said, adding that he and Jackson would be going back to Washington, DC, to personally pursue the matter again with Biden. Jackson also met President Biden during a presidential visit to Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Prabhakar said.

Dr. Prabhakar thanked Jackson for appealing to President Biden to remove the Defense Production Act ratings on three U.S. vaccine manufacturers to ease the shortage of raw materials to vaccine manufacturers in India. Describing Biden as a “minority-driven man,” Dr. Prabhakar said that he heard the president say he would set aside 15 percent for Black and brown people.

Dr. Prabhakar made an allusion to a wound being held, and explained it to indica News later: “We are aware of the friendship of Modi and Trump and their embrace at the Howdy Modi rally in Texas. Quite a large number of Indians were engaged in the campaign. What has not been forgotten yet by the Biden-Harris administration. This is why Jackson makes s difference. Because of him, President Biden agreed [to supply vaccines] … and the Modi government has accepted. Asked about reports about Modi visiting the U.S., Dr. Prabhakar acknowledged them, saying, “We have to work steadfastly to bring President Biden and Mr. Modi together.”

He said the work wasn’t easy, and had called for many phone calls with the Biden administration, and between Vice President Harris and Jackson. Rangaswami, founder and chairman of Indiaspora, a non-profit network of global leaders of Indian origin and the co-founder of the Sand Hill Group in Silicon Valley, told indica News that Indiaspora has raised close to $3. 5 million for the cause. He specifically cited PreetBharara, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, who helped raise $130,000 for those affected by COVID in India.

Rangaswami said Indiapora’s Chalogive.org is working through a Delhi-based non-profit, Goonj, to distribute funds. He said that while a lot of other groups were working to supply oxygen needed by the COVID-hit, Indiaspora had focused on food and cash relief required in rural India. He said 230 million people in India have fallen into poverty since the pandemic began.

“I am sure the government is doing their bit. It’s such a big problem. Everybody needs to help,” he said, pointing out that hunger had become a big issue there.Rangaswami said that after the pandemic, too, the group would work to see how migrants could be given jobs where they live. “We learned a painful lesson in the U.S. last year, and have over 600,000 deaths,” Rangaswani said. “When the country is burning there [should be] no pointing of fingers,” he said, adding, “Maybe in the future we can give some constructive feedback. Right now the time is for India to get the vaccines.”

India has registered a continuous decline since the number of new cases peaked on May 7, when India reported 4,14,188 new cases and they have declined by 85 percent, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India. “Almost 85 per cent decline has been seen in daily cases since the highest reported peak. We are witnessing this situation after 75 days, thus indicating an overall decline in infection rate, ” said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry on COVID19 situation. On June 15^th, India reported 86,490 new cases, while on May 7, daily cases were at 4.14 lakh, but had come down to 2.67 lakh on May 19 and dropped below the 2 lakh mark subsequently.

Cumulative recovery rate has now reached 95.6 per cent, with recoveries outnumbering infections in all states, he said. As many as 366 districts across the country have reported a marked decline in cases over the past weeks, while there are 20 states and UTs where active Covid cases are less than 5,000. There has been a consistent decline in average daily new cases since the week of 5-11 May and a progressive increase in the rate of decline of average daily new cases, he added. The Health Ministry official further added that 3.28 per cent of children in the age group of 1-10 years contracted Covid-19 during the first wave while 3.05 per cent of children in the same age group were affected during the second wave.

“In the age group of 1-10 years, 3.28 per cent of children contracted COVID-19 infection in the first wave while 3.05 per cent during the second wave. 8.03 per cent were infected in 11-20 years of age group in the first wave and 8.5 per cent in the second wave, ” said Agarwal. He added that prioritising vaccination should be the focus in the country and added that Covid-19 safe behavior should be followed despite low Covid-19 numbers to contain the virulent variants of Coronavirus.

“Vaccination is an additional tool in the fight against coronavirus. I urge everyone to prioritise hygiene and abide by COVID appropriate behaviour including wearing masks and social distancing. Avoid travel as much as you can,” said Lav Agarwal. “Virus transmission is very low right now. Cluster cases should be contained. We are dealing with a highly transmissible variant this year than we were in 2020, hence we exercise greater caution and strictly abide by COVID appropriate behaviour, ” added Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, NitiAayog while addressing the media in New Delhi.

As U.S. states lift more coronavirus restrictions, experts are worried people who aren’t fully vaccinated could contribute to further spread of the virus. The Delta variant, first reported in India, currently accounts for nearly 10% of coronavirus cases in the U.S., according to the CDC.The Delta variant is on its way to becoming the dominant strain of coronavirus in the US, raising concerns that outbreaks could hit unvaccinated people this fall.  And a new study shows the Delta variant is associated with almost double the risk of hospitalization compared to the Alpha variant.

The Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant, which is “stickier” and more contagious than the original strain of novel coronavirus, became the dominant strain in the US this spring.But health experts worry the Alpha variant could be trumped by the Delta variant, which appears to be even more transmissible and may cause more severe illness for those not vaccinated.Right now, about 10% of Covid-19 cases in the US can be attributed tothe Delta variant. But that proportion is doubling every two weeks, Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, said in a CBS interview Sunday.He said the Delta variant will probably take over as the dominant strain of coronavirus in the US.

“I think in parts of the country where you have less vaccination — particularly in parts of the South, where you have some cities where vaccination rates are low — there’s a risk that you could see outbreaks with this new variant,” Gottlieb said.While 52.4% of Americans have received at least one dose of vaccine, only 43.4% have been fully vaccinated, according to data Sunday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Delta variant could pose a serious risk for states lagging in Covid-19 vaccinations, but the good news is Americans can stave off the danger by getting vaccinated.Studies suggest those who are fully vaccinated have protection against the Delta variant.  “We have the tools to control this and defeat it,” Gottlieb said. “We just need to use those tools.”

New research shows the Delta variant may lead to more hospitalizations

The Delta variant — or the B1.617.2 strain first detected in India — has been linked to about double the risk of hospitalization compared to the Alpha variant first found in the UK, according to the preliminary findings of a Scottish study published Monday in The Lancet.The Alpha variant used to be the dominant strain in the UK. But last week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Delta variant had taken over — making up 91% of new cases in the UK.

Novavax’s Covid-19 Vaccine Shows 90.4% Overall Efficacy In Phase 3 Trial

Researchers from the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde and Public Health Scotland analyzed data from 5.4 million people in Scotland. The study found that between April 1 and June 6, there were 19,543 Covid-19 cases and 377 hospitalizations.Among those, 7,723 cases and 134 hospitalizations were caused by the Delta variant.  The early findings suggest two doses the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine does protect against the Delta variant — but it may be at a lower level of protection than against the Alpha variant.The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was found to provide 79% protection against infection from the Delta variant, compared with 92% against the Alpha variant, in community cases at least two weeks after the second dose.

India’s daily coronavirus infections have dipped below 100,000 for the first time in more than two months as an overall downturn prompts some states to ease restrictions. India also reported 2,123 new fatalities in the past 24 hours, raising the overall death toll to 351,309. Both figures are believed to be vast undercounts.

India’s daily coronavirus infections have dipped below 100,000 for the first time in more than two months as an overall downturn prompts some states to ease restrictions. The 86,498 cases added in the past 24 hours pushed India’s total past 29 million on Tuesday, June 8^th is second only to the United States, which has more than 33 million. The Health Ministry also reported 2,123 new fatalities in the past 24 hours, raising the overall death toll to 351,309. Both figures are believed to be vast undercounts.

India peaked at adding more than 400,000 cases a day in May, but new infections and deaths have declined across the country since then. There were 85,801 new cases of Covid-19 across India on Monday, the first time fewer than 100,000 infections were added since April 5.The number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in Delhi reduced further on Monday, dipping below the 300-mark for the first time since March 4. The Capital reported 231 new cases of the viral infection, showed Monday’s health bulletin.

With over 63,000 tests, the test positivity rate — proportion of samples that return positive — also fell further to 0.36%. The positivity rate in the city has stayed below 1% for eight days in a row, after the city saw its fourth and worst surge of cases between April and May.The city has added an average of 462 new cases each day over the past week.The test positivity rate is a vital metric to understand the spread of an infection in any region. The World Health Organization recommends a positivity rate below 5% before an infection can be considered under control in a region. In Delhi, the positivity rate has been below this number for 18 days now.

At the peak of the surge, Delhi recorded over 28,000 new cases in a day and a positivity rate of over 36%. The number of deaths has also reduced with the daily toll below 100 for five days in a row now. Fewer than 50 deaths were reported for the last two days, with 36 more fatalities reported in Monday’s bulletin. At the height of the fourth wave, 448 succumbed to Covid-19 on a single day (May 3).“It is highly unlikely that there will be a third wave unless the virus mutates. Hence, there is a need for the government to keep a close eye on the virus in circulation to pick up any mutations of concern quickly. In addition, the respite between the second and third surge in cases must be utilised for preparing for the next wave by creating permanent infrastructure and vaccinating the population,” said Dr Jacob John, former head of the department of virology at Christian Medical College – Vellore.

Dr John also said that governments should study the immune response generated if mixed doses of vaccines are used, if a half dose-full dose or a full dose-half dose regimen is used like it was mistakenly done in the global trial for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.The downturn has led some states to ease restrictions on commercial activities to spur consumption. Multiple states have, however, extended lockdowns and have been reluctant to reopen.A staggering change of course for a country that just reported its worst month of the pandemic, parts of India, including the capital city of New Delhi, are moving to ease some coronavirus restrictions over the coming week after reporting a sharp decline in new cases and deaths.

Some experts have sounded the alarm about a premature easing of restrictions. World Health Organization Chief Scientist SoumyaSwaminathan in mid-May warned data about dropping cases is unreliable due to a lack of testing in rural areas where the virus is still spreading quickly. “There are still many parts of the country which have not yet experienced the peak,” Swaminathan said, adding: “Testing is still inadequate in a large number of states.”Meanwhile, the federal government is going to take over vaccine procurement from the states and ensure vaccines are provided free of cost to every adult Indian. India’s vaccination drive has been marred by delays and shortages. Less than 5% of the population is fully vaccinated.

India has fast-tracked vaccine procurement and will provide free shots to citizens above 18 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an address to the nation on Monday, June 7th.The South Asian nation faces the challenge of vaccinating its large adult population as it emerges from a devastating second virus wave, with a critical shortage of inoculations leading some centers to close down as the country struggled to ramp up domestic production and procure doses internationally.

Modi’s speech came against the backdrop of a near breakdown in health infrastructure over the last two months, with major Indian cities running out of oxygen and hospitals flooded with patients, while crematoriums struggled to keep pace with the number of those who died of covid-19. His administration has come under intense criticism over its handling of the second wave and the vaccination rollout and its popularity ratings have fallen from 75% in 2019 to 51% this year, according the Local Circle polling company.All citizens aged above 18 would be vaccinated at free of cost by the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on June 7. All state-level vaccine procurement would also be taken over by the central government, Modi said.

The 25 percent vaccination procurement which was being conducted by the states would now be conducted by the central government, he said, adding that vaccines would be directly purchased by the Centre and given to the states for free.”From June 21, Tuesday, all citizens of India above 18 years of age will be given free vaccination,” Modi added.The Centre, as part of the new vaccination strategy, would procure 75 percent of the vaccines, whereas, the private sector would be allowed to purchase 25 percent of the vaccines, the prime minister said.

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

Rs 150 can be the service charge imposed by private sector for the overhead charges, he said. The vaccine policy was, on May 1, liberalised to allow the state government to directly procure the vaccines. “Within two weeks of May, several state governments changed their stance and said the earlier Centre-led vaccination programme would be preferred,” Modi said.Considering the demand raised by the states, the Centre has now decided to reverse the changes and lead the inoculation programme with 75 percent procurement of the vaccine doses, he added.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has welcomed the changes announced in the vaccination policy. “We thank PM Modi for this important announcement of universal vaccination for all to be carried out by the Government of India. IMA is constantly and proactively supporting the vaccination drive initiated by the prime minister,” news agency ANI quoted IMA president Dr JA Jayalal as saying.

Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) president TV Narendran also lauded Modi’s decision, claiming that it would facilitate quick rollout of vaccines.”Centralisation of procurement will ensure uniformity of procurement prices and create bandwidth among states to manage inoculation of their adult populations. This would also ensure an equitable allocation of vaccines in states and was a key ask of CII too. Making the vaccines available for all the eligible population free of cost will go a long way in protecting the citizens and resuming normal economic activities at the earliest,” he said.

Modi, during his address to the nation, also announced that the government will “continue the PM GaribKalyan Anya Yojana providing free grains to 80 crore people with free food grains till Diwali”. The free ration aid is aimed at mitigating the economic impact of COVID-19.Modi, while noting that “this is the deadliest pandemic in the last 100 years”, said India has been proactive to develop and procure vaccines “which are the only shield against the pandemic”.There are seven companies in India which are currently manufacturing vaccines, the prime minister said, adding that the inoculation of over 23 crore doses so far is largely through the two made-in-India vaccines – Covishield and Covaxin.

Efforts are also underway “to buy vaccines from other countries”, Modi pointed out. His remarks comes amid the state government’s demand that the Centre must procure the vaccines from abroad as global manufacturers are not dealing directly with the states.Modi also pointed out that experts have raised concerns about the vulnerability of minors to COVID-19, and the government, after taking cognisance of the concerns, have approved trials for vaccines for children aged below 18.

The prime minister added that a research is underway for the development of nasal vaccine against coronavirus. “If successful it could help support country’s COVID-19 vaccination drive,” he said.Modi claimed that his government, over the past seven years, has succeeded in increasing India’s overall vaccination coverage. “From around 60 percent coverage in 2014, we have managed to take it past 90 percent during our term,” he said.

Modi’s address to the country over the vaccination policy comes days after the Supreme Court raised questions at the Centre. The court expressed concern over the “digital divide” between rural and urban Indian in accessing the vaccines, and asked the government to adopt a policy in accordance to the “dynamic pandemic situation”.The court also called the non-extension of free vaccination to the 18-44 age group as “prima facie arbitrary and irrational” and asked why budgetary allocation of Rs 35,000 crore for vaccine procurement could not be used to inoculate this group free of cost.

Researchers are still closely observing participants of the clinical trials for various vaccines to see how long their resilience against the virus persists, Fauci added. So far, vaccines appear to be effective for anywhere between six months to a year

People who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus will require a booster shot to remain protected, according to the US’ top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci. However, exactly when the shot should be administered still remains unclear, he said. “I don’t anticipate that the durability of the vaccine protection is going to be infinite,” DrFauci said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Wednesday. “It’s just not. So I imagine we will need, at some time, a booster. What we’re figuring out right now is what that interval is going to be.”

Researchers are still closely observing participants of the clinical trials for various vaccines to see how long their resilience against the virus persists, Fauci added. So far, vaccines appear to be effective for anywhere between six months to a year. Last week, the CEOs of US vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer said that those who had received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine when the US’ inoculation drive first started late last year, could potentially need a booster shot by September.

“People at highest risks (elderly, healthcare workers) were vaccinated in December/January. So I would do [a] September start for those at highest risk,” Moderna CEO StéphaneBancel said in an interview with Axios. Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s leading infectious-disease expert, says we may not need coronavirus vaccine boosters “for quite a while.” ““I really don’t think it’s accurate to say we will need boosters x number of months from now. We may not need it for quite a while. We’re preparing for the eventuality that we might need boosters.”  In a separate, live-streamed interview with The Post, Fauci said it is too soon to know if and when people who have been vaccinated might need a booster shot. “We may not need it for quite a while,” he said.

On Tuesday, Bharat Biotech launched trials for the third booster dose of its Covid-19 jab Covaxin. The aim of the trial is to use the additional booster dose to test the ability of Covaxin to prompt an immune response that could last a few years.

(picture: ABC News)

In the wake of the pandemic decimating lives and businesses across the world and the United States, a delegation of Indian American International Chamber of Commerce, Inc.IAICC Executive Board Members, and the Consul General of India in Atlanta, recently met with the Governor of Mississippi (MS), Tate Reeves, Senator Cindy HydeSmith, Senator Roger Wicker, and other state officials. The objective of the meetings held in Mississippi was to offer assistance in the economic development of the State.

The delegation, that visited Mississippi from April 14-16, included IAICC President & CEO, KV Kumar, Consul General Dr. Swati Vijay Kulkarni, IAICC Vice Chairman & SE Regional Chair, Dr. N. Neelagaru, IAICC Executive Board Member and Chair of Forum on Women in Business & Leadership, Dr. Annapurna Bhat, SE Regional Vice Chair, Dr. Subrahmanya Bhat, IAICC MS Chapter Chairman, Jayanthilal (Jerry) Patel, IAICC MS Chapter President & Vice President of IAICC Forum on Women in Business and Leadership, Monica Harrigill, MS Chapter Vice Chairman Sumesh Arora, and IAICC Congressional Liaison, Larry Harvey.

On April 14th , the delegation visited Port Gibson to consider an economic development project. The delegation met the Claiborne County President, Mayor of Port Gibson City and the Executive Director of Claiborne County and discussed details of the project. On April 15th, the delegation met Mayor Dan Gibson of the City of Natchez, who presented the Key to Natchez to Mr. Kumar, and Dr. Kulkarni at a banquet hosted by Mayor Gibson. He also hosted a lunch in honor of the delegation.

On April 16th, during the meeting, Governor Reeves welcomed IAICC’s initiative to improve the economic situation in the State. Mr. Kumar appreciated the support of Governor Reeves for IAICC and said the Chamber’s partnership with Mississippi will not only benefit businesses across the State but also the adjoining States. Dr. Kulkarni told Governor Reeves that the delegation was very pleased with the meeting and hoped there will be a positive momentum in terms of economic development in Mississippi. She also said that she is looking forward to IAICC and the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) to coordinate a plan for Governor Reeves to visit India soon.

The delegation had meetings with Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mayor of the City of Brookhaven, Joe Cox, Commissioner Agriculture & Commerce, Andy Gipson, and Executive Director of MDA, John Rounsaville, and discussed a number of strategies to improve trade relations between Mississippi and India as well. T. VishnudattaJayaraman Communications Director Tel: (201) 615 3388 Email: tvjayaraman@iaicc.world Website: www.iaicc.world

Indian American International Chamber of Commerce Promote and foster economic development of the United States of America, Republic of India together with the rest of the world for the benefit of all Promote and foster economic development of the United States of America, Republic of India together with the rest of the world for the benefit of all Dr. Kulkarni thanked Senator Hyde-Smith for hosting meetings and for the warm Southern hospitality. She further stressed that the MDA will take a positive decision to setup a Trade Office in India, similar to what South Carolina has done. This will definitely boost the bilateral trade and act as a win-win situation for both Mississippi and India.

The IAICC MS Chapter hosted a reception and dinner for Senator Roger Wicker, with attendance from the visiting delegation, state officials, and local business leaders. During his keynote speech, Senator Wicker praised the work of Mr. Kumar, Dr. Kulkarni, and the Indian American Community for their sincere efforts to improve on economic situation in Mississippi. Dr. Kulkarni praised Mr. Kumar’s work and said, “It has been my good luck to have a friend like you to advice and help in promoting India-US trade and investment ties through a sustainable platform of IAICC.” Mr. Kumar invited Governor Reeves, his cabinet members, Senator Hyde-Smith, Senator Wicker, Mayor Gibson, Mayor Cox, Commissioner Gipson, Executive Director Rounsaville, and business leaders to join the IAICC delegation to India and also invited them to join IAICC 30th Anniversary celebrations in the spring of 2022.

Following new CDC guidance that fully vaccinated Americans can remove masks and resume normal activities, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi announced the Nullifying Opportunities for Variants to Infect and Decimate  (NOVID) Act, an expansive coronavirus prevention program that will ensure Americans are not subject to another deadly surge of COVID-19 domestically.

Inspired by the Lend-Lease Act the United States used to provide vital supplies to allies during the Second World War and based on the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program which has helped save 20 million lives since 2003, the bill would limit the emergence of COVID variants which could threaten outbreaks in the United States by helping to end outbreaks abroad which enable such mutations.

According to a recent survey by Oxfam, 88% of international epidemiologists report that persistent low vaccine coverage in many countries would make it more likely for vaccine resistant mutations to appear, while 66% said we had a year or less before the virus mutates to the extent that the majority of first-generation vaccines will become ineffective. Notably, the threat posed by these mutations can be reduced by expanded American efforts to combat the pandemic abroad which will reduce the virus’ capacity to develop these mutations.

“While we’ve made excellent progress in countering the COVID-19 pandemic here at home as evident by the CDC’s new mask guidance, the coronavirus outbreaks devastating other parts of the world continue to represent an enormous threat to our domestic progress as those surges dramatically increase the risk of double and triple mutation variants which our current vaccines may not be able to stop,” said Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi.

“Because of that, it’s essential that we end these outbreaks now to drastically reduce the risk and range of these mutations forming and threatening the success of our pandemic response. That’s why I’m introducing legislation to protect Americans from new variants of the coronavirus by helping our partners abroad defeat COVID outbreaks and limit the development of vaccine-resistant strains. Just as the Lend-Lease Act helped us win the Second World War by providing our allies with resources to help us defeat fascism far from our shores, this legislation will help us win the battle against new strains of coronavirus by reducing the risk of their reaching the United States.”

Under the NOVID Act, the United States would establish the $19 billion Pandemic Preparedness and Response Program (PanPReP) through the State Department, modelled on PEPFAR, to oversee and coordinate the U.S. global strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic. The PanPReP would work with international partners and host countries to procure enough vaccines to inoculate 60% of the populations of the 92 low- and middle-income countries eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) program in order to drastically reduce the emergence of dangerous new virus variants.

Legislation would dramatically expand American aid to India, Argentina, and other nations to end COVID surges through vaccination, reducing risk of dangerous new variants.

To ensure effective administration of the vaccines, the program would include ensuring their end-to-end delivery. PanPReP would also work with manufacturers to rapidly scale up production capacity of vaccines and their components in order to secure sufficient supply to achieve herd immunity in COVAX nations and to prepare for any subsequent production of second-generation vaccines necessary to counter new virus strains in the United States and abroad.

India has been battling a severe second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and in order to stop the rapid spread of the virus, several states in the country are announcing either lockdowns or restrictions on movement of people. Across India, several states have placed curbs, with West Bengal on Saturday becoming the largest state in the country to impose a lockdown, according to media reports.

Here is a look at the states that have extended restrictions to curb the spread of the virus:

Delhi: The ongoing lockdown in Delhi has been extended till the morning of May 31. CM Kejriwal stated that they will begin the unlock procedure in a phased manner thereon if Covid-19 cases continue to decrease.

Uttar Pradesh: The statewide curfew in UP has been extended till 7 am on May 31, which was earlier to set to end on May 24. Coronavirus vaccination drive, industrial activities and other essential services have been exempted, according to the official statement.

Kerala: The ongoing lockdown in the state has been extended till May 30, Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan announced on Friday. While a triple lockdown will continue in Malappuram district, the strict restrictions have been relaxed in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Thrissur.

Tamil Nadu: The state government extended the ongoing lockdown for another week, starting May 24, with more stringent measures. E-commerce will be allowed to function from 8 am to 6 pm, and vegetables and fruits will be distributed to the public on vehicles through Tamil Nadu’s Horticulture department.

Karnataka: The state government has extended the lockdown till 6 am on June 7. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa clarified that there are no changes in the current restrictions and the lockdown would continue as it had been since April 27.

Jammu and Kashmir: The corona curfew has been extended till 7 am on May 31, the Department of Information and Public Relations tweeted on Saturday. Essential services have been exempted.

Gujarat: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced that night curfew will be enforced in 36 cities from 8 pm to 6 am till May 28th. All essential services will continue during these restrictions.

Goa: Chief Minister PramodSawant on Friday announced the extension of a statewide curfew till May 31, prohibiting a gathering of five or more persons in public.

Maharashtra: Maharashtra’s lockdown-like restrictions will continue to be in place till 7 am on June 1, as per the latest announcement. The new restrictions include a mandatory negative RT-PCR test report for those entering the state.

Haryana:  The state government on Sunday extended the statewide lockdown till May 31. Standalone shops are allowed to open during the day when the night curfew is not in operation and other shops are allowed to open from 7 am to 12 pm on odd-even basis. However, shopping malls will continue to remain shut till 5 am on May 31.

Jharkhand: The partial lockdown imposed in Jharkhand will continue to be in place till May 27 with some additional restrictions. Movement of inter-state and intra-state buses were restricted while private vehicles are allowed to move only with e-passes issued by the district administration.

Chhattisgarh: The state will remain under lockdown till May 31 until further announcement.

Rajasthan: The Covid-19 triggered lockdown imposed in the state has been extended till June 8.

West Bengal: West Bengal government announced that a complete lockdown would remain in place throughout the state, beginning from 6 am ending at 6 pm on May 30, meaning that the residents would be placed under a state of complete lockdown for about 15 days. Apart from this, a night curfew would also remain in place from 9 pm to 5 am in the state.

Himachal Pradesh has also announced an extension of curfew restrictions across the state till May 26.

Maharashtra: The state would remain under lockdown-like restrictions till the morning of June 1, and under the new rules, people entering the state would have to have a mandatory negative RT-PCR test. Apart from this, the state has also placed curbs on people arriving from “sensitive origins”.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has eased mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings.

In a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has eased mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings.

“Today is a great day for America,” President Joe Biden said Thursday during a Rose Garden address heralding the new guidance, an event where he and his staff went without masks. Hours earlier in the Oval Office, where Biden was meeting with vaccinated Republican lawmakers, he led the group in removing their masks when the guidance was announced.“If you are fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask,” he said, summarizing the new guidance and encouraging more Americans to roll up their sleeves. “Get vaccinated — or wear a mask until you do.”

The guidance still calls for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, but it will help clear the way for reopening workplaces, schools and other venues — even removing the need for social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated.“We have all longed for this moment — when we can get back to some sense of normalcy,” Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said at an earlier White House briefing.

In light of the CDC guidance, the Pentagon announced on Friday that fully vaccinated Defense Department personnel no longer need to wear masks indoors or outdoors at Defense facilities.The CDC and the Biden administration have faced pressure to ease restrictions on fully vaccinated people — those who are two weeks past their last required COVID-19 vaccine dose — in part to highlight the benefits of getting the shots. The country’s aggressive vaccination campaign has paid off: U.S. virus cases are at their lowest rate since September, deaths are at their lowest point since last April and the test positivity rate is at the lowest point since the pandemic began.

Walensky said the long-awaited change is thanks to the millions of people who have gotten vaccinated and is based on the latest science about how well those shots are working.“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities — large or small — without wearing a mask or physically distancing,” Walensky said. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.”

The new guidance is likely to open the door to confusion, since there is no surefire way for businesses or others to distinguish between those who are fully vaccinated and those who are not.“Millions of Americans are doing the right thing and getting vaccinated, but essential workers are still forced to play mask police for shoppers who are unvaccinated and refuse to follow local COVID safety measures,” said Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. “Are they now supposed to become the vaccination police?”

Walensky and Biden said people who are not fully vaccinated should continue to wear masks indoors.“We’ve gotten this far — please protect yourself until you get to the finish line,” Biden said, noting that most Americans under 65 are not yet fully vaccinated. He said the government was not going to enforce the mask wearing guidance on those not yet fully vaccinated.

“We’re not going to go out and arrest people,” added Biden, who said he believes the American people want to take care of their neighbors. “If you haven’t been vaccinated, wear your mask for your own protection and the protection of the people who also have not been vaccinated yet.”To date more than 154 million Americans, nearly 47% of the population, have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and nearly 119 million are fully vaccinated. The rate of new vaccinations has slowed in recent weeks, but with the authorization Wednesday of the Pfizer shot for children ages 12 to 15, a new burst of doses is expected in the coming days.

“All of us, let’s be patient, be patient with one another,” Biden said, acknowledging some Americans might be hesitant about removing their masks after more than a year of living in a pandemic that has killed more than 584,000 people in the U.S. and more than 3.3 million people worldwide.

The CDC’s announcement that Americans could begin to shed one of the most visible symbols of the pandemic stood in stark contrast to other nations, with much of the world still struggling to contain the virus amid global disparities in vaccinations.There are some caveats. Walensky encouraged people who have weak immune systems, such as from organ transplants or cancer treatment, to talk with their doctors before shedding their masks. That’s because of continued uncertainty about whether the vaccines can rev up a weakened immune system as well as they do normal, healthy ones.

In India, Covid-19 (Corona) pandemic’s second wave hit hard suddenly and with the force of a tsunami. The country was caught off guard and ill prepared for the toll it took. All the focus of the grave situation revolved mainly around the urban areas and rural-tribal areas received scant notice. There was a reason too for this apathy towards the rural community.

Last year, the villages had fared quite well in arresting the spread of corona, by and large, and the majority of folks there had remained immune to it. As India entered well into Yr.2021, the situation changed. According to BajrangBagra, the CEO of ‘EkalAbhiyan’ (federation of all ‘Ekal’ organizations), “the serious aspect of the pandemic, this time around, is that it has struck even in the countryside where, unfortunately, the medical infrastructure and facilities are not as strong as they are in the urban areas”. In rural India, ‘Ekal’ (as ‘Abhiyan’ is popularly known) has the most wide-spread network of volunteers and collaborators in the deepest corners of villages. It has firm presence and unwavering support in over 100,000 villages. That’s why Ekal has undertaken a comprehensive well-coordinated offensive against the pandemic, with support from its allied organizations.

Last year, Ekal’s successful initiative against covid was based on self-monitoring, self-reliance, education and cooperative-exchanges. It included a wide-spread awareness campaign about the hygiene, social distancing, food distribution, mask-making and restrictive movements. The new offensive has not only incorporated all these steps in the direct-action roadmap, but also, has started a proactive counter campaign against the misinformation about the vaccine, the danger posed by covid and voodoo- treatments. With extensive reach well beyond its footings, Ekal has mobilized tens of thousands of its school teachers for this information campaign. ‘Ekal-Arogya (Health Foundation)’ has established 24-hr Telehealth lifeline (# 011 41236457) for professional medical counselling.

According to Ramesh Shah, Ekal Global Coordinator and an advisor to Ekal-USA, ‘Board of Directors’, “currently more than 350 ‘National Medico Organization (NMO)’ Doctors in India and some in U.S. are manning the helpline every day”. In addition to various empowering projects for the economic sustainance of the village folks, Ekal has earmarked one million dollars just for covid relief. It is converting its 29 ‘Gramotthan Research Ctrs’ and ‘Integrated Village Development Ctrs’ into corona isolation camps, fully equipped with Oxygen concentrators, PPE kits, Oximeters and basic medicines. After making provision for hundreds of beds it is dispensing Ayurvedic, Homoeopathic and Allopathic medicines as deemed necessary. According to Arun Gupta, Chairman of Ekal-USA ‘Board of Directors’, “Ekal has lost many volunteers to Covid and so Ekal has created an endowment fund to the tune of $500,000 – $1Million, as an assistance to their families. It is supplying 15,000 Oximeters and infrared thermometers to its ‘ArogyaSevikas’ (healthcare workers).

It has created resident facilities for thousands of its city volunteers, throughout its reach. Ekal intends to extend emergency medical services to 5 million people. It is running vaccination Centers in collaboration with the local govt. These efforts are being spear-headed by Dr. Mukul Bhatia in India and Dr. Rakesh Gupta in U.S., with support from numerous healthcare specialists.

In this national crisis, Ekal is working alongside various organization like ‘Sewa International’, ‘AAPI’, ‘SevaBharati’, ‘Mission Oxygen’ and few others. It is assisting many humanitarian groups who have collected funds for Indian pandemic but have no proper distribution network to dispense them. Ekal is

appealing nationally and internationally to its donor-base to contribute to its various relief-work packages. As of now four donor-packages have been floated – Diagnostic Kits $50/village; Telehealth Lifeline $500/30 villages; Supporting CovidCtr $5000/Ctr; and Supporting Covid Victim $5,000/Family.

Ekal’s youth groups are also very active in creating awareness and raising funds for this unprecedented fight against the pandemic. One example – Arnav Enaganti from Michigan has taken an initiative to raise funds for Oximeter, PPE Kits and Oxygen concentrators. Come what may, Ekal is confident that with everyone’s help, we can defeat this deadly virus, once and for all.

AAPI has been in the forefront, pioneering efforts both here in the US and back home in India, spearheading numerous initiatives to help, guide and support the people and the physician community in India

India is struggling with an unprecedented second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 400,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days. The spread of COVID-19 in India is escalating and the associated morbidity and mortality is causing havoc and panic in the society. The critical shortage of essential supplies of medication, oxygen, ventilators and physicians burn out have a further catastrophic consequence in the survival of hundreds of millions of Indian citizens.

The American Association of Physicians of Indian-Origin (AAPI), which represents nearly 100,000 thousands of Indian-origin Doctors in the US, has been in the forefront, pioneering efforts both here in the US and back home in India, spearheading numerous initiatives to help, guide and support the people and the physician community in India on ways to combat and overcome the deadly virus.

While describing the current situation in India as “heart wrenching,” Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President of AAPI said, “We at AAPI are determined to mobilize the massive medical help and support, that India needs at this hour.  Any further spread of such toxic material around the globe can only be apocalyptical, a specter that could be prevented now.”

Dr. Jonnalagadda said, “AAPI, the second largest Medical Association in USA after the AMA, has been galvanized extensively, and AAPI has immediately shipped over a thousand Oxygen generators, masks, PPPs and essential supplies, and our pipeline will continue until the pandemic is overcome. As with anyone else, our doctors believe that they can best carry out our service to God through our service to our fellow humans.”

While providing all possible help and support that is essential at this critical period, AAPI recognizes that “In the long term, vaccination is the still the best therapy and hope. At present, India is experiencing acute and severe shortages of the Covid-19 vaccines. Astra Zeneca is releasing 60 million vaccines after due FDA approval this month.  We urge the US government to release send at least 30 million doses of the vaccine to India,” said  Dr. Sampat Shivangi, Member National Advisory Council, SAMHSA, Center for National Mental Health Services, Washington DC and currently serving as AAPI’s Legislative Wing Chairman.

AAPI has been working with the White House officials to have an in person meeting arranged for the AAPI leadership to meet with President Joe Biden,  Vice President Kamala Harris and other top US administration leaders, urging the importance and the need to send the much needed vaccines to India to prevent and contain the spread of the virus.

In the letters sent to the 100 US Senators, while acknowledging the respect and influence each of them command on Capitol Hill, Dr. Shivangi said, “we seek your strongest effort to convince the White House to permit more vaccine raw material to be released immediately for local vaccine production, as well as increasing all types of assistance, in a catastrophe of such magnitude.”

AAPI has urged the Indian American community “to be the spokespersons for humanity, and convince our President, Mr. Joseph Biden, our Vice – President, Mrs. Kamala Harris, along with the Chief of White House Mr. Ron Klain, and not the least, your colleagues in the US Senate. We are delighted that President has declared America’s return to world affairs, and he should be at the helm of this emergency response.”

Dr. Sajani Shah, Chair of AAPI BOT, said, “We have a team of volunteers and support and guidance of experienced leaders, who have come forward to enable and empower our efforts to curtail this crisis.”

Meanwhile, AAPI has sought blanket immunity and indemnification from the Indian government for offering their voluntary services to COVID-19 patients either virtually or in-person by flying to their home country amidst an unprecedented second wave of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. AAPI has urged the Government of Indian in letters to Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. “We request the Government of India through an emergency declaration (to) provide a blanket immunity and indemnification for volunteering physicians from the USA, providing COVID related medical care in India,” Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, President-Elect of AAPI said.

“We are continuing to interact with the physicians back in India to answer their questions. AAPI as a group and individual physicians are reaching out almost on a daily basis with doctors on ground in India,” Dr. Ravi Kolli, Vice President of AAPI said, adding that it is in addition to the calls being received from their friends and families back home.

“Indeed a proud moment for AAPI,” said Dr. Amit Chakrabarthy, Secretary of AAPI. “The prestigious New York Times as the second most prominent international organization in this effort (after UNICEF)!!! This is a proud moment for all of us.  Please continue to support and donate at aapiusa.org.”

Dr. Sathesh Kathula, Treasurer of AAPI said, “In less than a week, AAPI has raised USD 2.6 million. AAPI has so far sent 1,000 oxygen concentrators and is in the process of sending another 1,000. We have tied up with UNICEF, Sewa International USA, and several other non-profit bodies to secure and coordinate efforts to reach help to the suffering in India.”

It’s devastating to see millions of people are being impacted by Covid in India, especially many of the friends and families of AAPI members are suffering from Covid disease and dying now. In this context, AAPI would like to help India big way, said Dr. Jonnalagadda. AAPI is also urging all Community leaders to educate their members to be on Alert to avoid spread of the virus.” For more information on AAPI and its efforts to coordinate services for India, please visit: www.aapiusa.org

According to The New York Times, the prospects for reaching “herd immunity” in the fight against COVID-19 are increasingly dim. Subsequently, the virus “will most likely become a manageable threat that will continue to circulate in the United States for years to come.”

Therefore, long-term management of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, will be increasingly important. As with influenza, and mosquito-borne viruses, like Zika, developing better antivirals for such perennial threats will have to be a part of the plan.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers Jonathan Dordick, a chemical engineer, and Robert Linhardt, a biochemist are developing one promising antiviral approach that uses a decoy to trap the virus before it can infect a cell.

This decoy strategy has shown promise in combating a number of viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, dengue, Zika, and influenza A.

Dordick and Linhardt, who is internationally recognized for his creation of synthetic heparin, focus on viruses that use glycoproteins to latch onto human cells, a trait common to many viruses, including coronaviruses. They study how viruses gain entry into human cells at the molecular level and identify safe, effective compounds to offer as a decoy.

In their most recent test of this viral decoy strategy on mammalian cells, Dordick and Linhardt demonstrated that a compound derived from edible seaweeds substantially outperforms remdesivir, the current standard antiviral used to combat COVID-19. Heparin, a common blood thinner, and a heparin variant stripped of its anticoagulant properties, performed on par with remdesivir in inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 infection in mammalian cells. Both compounds bind tightly to the spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2, the same strategy the team employed in their previous viral work.

Dordick and Linhardt are available to speak on the viral decoy strategy and the need for more effective antivirals in future pandemic control.

Exposure to respiratory fluids — very fine respiratory droplets and aerosol particles — present in air and which carry viruses are the main reason for contracting Covid-19 infection, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

People release respiratory fluids during exhalation — quiet breathing, speaking, singing, exercise, coughing, sneezing in the form of droplets. While large droplets settle out of the air within seconds to minutes, very fine droplets can remain suspended in the air for minutes to hours. These droplets carry viruses and transmit infection, said the agency’s latest science brief as part of its public guidelines on Covid-19.

Exposure to these droplets occurs in three principal ways: inhalation of very fine respiratory droplets and aerosol particles, deposition of respiratory droplets on exposed mucous membranes in the mouth, nose, or eye by direct splashes and sprays, and touching mucous membranes with hands that have been soiled either directly by virus-containing respiratory fluids or indirectly by touching surfaces with virus on them.

Further, “the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection varies according to the amount of virus to which a person is exposed,” the CDC said.

Infections through inhalation at distances greater than six feet from an infectious source are less likely than at closer distances. But, when an infectious person exhales virus indoors for an extended time (more than 15 minutes and in some cases hours), it can lead to virus concentrations in the air space.

It can be sufficient to transmit infections to people more than 6 feet away, and in some cases to people who have passed through that space soon after the infectious person justify. The risk in this case is more in enclosed spaces with inadequate ventilation, the agency said.

While there remains many knowledge gaps about Covid, the available evidence continues to demonstrate that existing recommendations to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission remain effective. This includes physical distancing, community use of well-fitting masks (e.g., barrier face coverings, procedure/surgical masks), adequate ventilation, and avoidance of crowded indoor spaces.

“These methods will reduce transmission both from inhalation of virus and deposition of virus on exposed mucous membranes. Transmission through soiled hands and surfaces can be prevented by practicing good hand hygiene and by environmental cleaning,” the CDC suggested.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, researchers have argued that Covid-19 was not airborne. However, the view has been changing.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), in a recent brief, said, “Current evidence suggests that the virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with each other, typically within 1 metre (short-range). A person can be infected when aerosols or droplets containing the virus are inhaled or come directly into contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth.”

The Lancet had, in April claimed in a new assessment that there is consistent, strong evidence to prove that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is predominantly transmitted through the air. (IANS)

India has recorded more than 19 million cases of coronavirus – second only to the US. It has also confirmed more than 215,000 deaths, though the real toll is thought to be far higher. Experts have cited low testing rates and the number of people dying at home, especially in rural areas, as contributing factors to under-reported figures.

India became the first country in the world to report over 4 lakh COVID cases in a single day. Country reported of 4,01,993 new COVID-19 cases and 3,523 deaths on May 1st. Total caseload of the country stood at 1,91,64,969. Death toll of India mounted to 2,11,853. Currently there are 32,68,710 active cases in country. According to Indian Council of Medical Research, up to April 30, 28,83,37,385 samples have been tested for COVID-19. Vaccination drive for citizens between 18-44 years age bracket will begin from today. So far, 15,49,89,635 vaccine doses have been inoculated.

Maharashtra reported 62,919 infections, followed by Karnataka (48,296), and Kerala (37,199). Maharashtra also recorded 828 casualties, followed by Delhi (375) and Uttar Pradesh (332). The country has so far reported a total of 1,91,63,488 cases and 2,11,778 deaths.
As many as 19,20,107 samples were tested on April 29 (results of which were made available on April 30). This is the first instance when daily tests have crossed the 19 lakh-mark. On April 28, 17.68 lakh samples were tested. A total of 28.64 crore tests have been conducted in the country from the beginning of the pandemic until April 29.

Around 22.24 lakh vaccination shots were given in the 24 hours ending 7 a.m. on April 30, which is only 31,267 doses more than what was recorded in the previous 24 hours. The daily vaccination rate has decreased significantly in the second half of April compared to the first. Between April 1 and 14, India administered 35.26 lakh doses on an average every day. However, between April 15-29, the average daily doses given fell to just 25.16 lakh. Cumulatively, 15,00,20,648 vaccine doses had been administered until 7 a.m. on April 30.
India continues to register the highest number of average daily cases in the world, according to Our World in Data. Until April 28, the country recorded 3.49 lakh daily cases. With 52,679 average daily cases, the U.S. was a distant second. Three other countries in the list included France (27,250), Germany (20,788) and Canada (7,980).

Several nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, have pledged sustained support to India as hospitals in the country scramble for resources. The country received the first batch of Covid supplies from the US on Friday.
India crossed the grim milestone of 1.50 crore on April 19. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 28,83,37,385 samples have been tested up to April 30, of which 19,45,299 were done on Friday.
India’s coronavirus cases may peak in the next 2 two weeks, according to a mathematical model of a team of scientists advising the government, news agency Reuters reported. “Our belief is that by next week, the daily new cases nationwide would have peaked,” M Vidyasagar, head of a government-appointed group of scientists modelling the trajectory of infections, told Reuters.

Four days back, we got together to do something for India in such an unprecedented crisis. Something as basic as oxygen seemed the bottleneck. We decided to get the concentrators for Delhi. We collaborated with SaveLife foundation, and started this fundraiser. We just wanted to get as many concentrators as we could. While we set up a vague number of 250 concentrators, little did we think on whether it was achievable.

Today, we are proud to share that we have been able to raise a whopping Rs. 2.41 Cr (as of 4PM, 30th April) from the campaign. We have already confirmed orders for 185 concentrators and are finalizing the other 65 concentrators as I write. We expect the shipments to start arriving in Delhi from May 07-May 10th. The concentrators will be distributed to Delhi hospitals and COVID Care Centers based on the need in close coordination with the Delhi government. The remaining proceeds (about ~0.6Cr) will be utilized for buying more concentrators and other medical equipments.

We are now more motivated to expand our campaign to other geographies and ensure that the help reaches there. For the purpose, starting 5PM, April 30th, we are collaborating with Right Walk Foundation, a Lucknow-based NGO which works with slum communities in eleven districts of UP. Right Walk Foundation will use the proceeds gained (after 5PM, April 30th) from the campaign in buying concentrators, cylinders, oximeter and other medical equipments as required. A collaboration with Right Walk will enable use to reach out to the less-privileged communities of UP.

A sincere thanks to SaveLife foundation for the tremendously smooth efforts in our phase-1 of the campaign. You inspire us, you really do!

It has just been the five of us, supported by a lovely community of yours. We are reaching out again for helping us achieve our targets in UP. The overall campaign target is being raised to 4Cr. We are confident that the outpouring support we have received will force us to raise this target further.

An important thing to keep in mind for foreign donors: Please transfer as much funds as you can through Indian accounts: they can be more quickly disbursed!

Keep following the page for more updates. All the documents (our update, SLF/RWF update, POs, Product Specifications), etc. can now be accessed at: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1Nm8ntSk_FuzklPBF82eSLdrAnl8DRJza

Thanks for all the love you have showered on us. Ashutosh Ranka graduated with a B.Tech in Materials Science and Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 2016. He is currently pursuing MPA from London School Of Economics. His previous work experience includes working with McKinsey & Delhi Government. Isha Agrawal graduated with a BT-MT degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 2016. She has been working as an Analog Design Engineer in Texas Instruments for the past 5 years.
Nikhil Asati graduated with a B.Tech degree in Materials Science and Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 2017. He is currently working as a consultant with EXL Services.

Kavya Eluru graduated with a MSc. in  Mathematics and Scientific Computing from IIT Kanpur in 2014. She is currently working in the Business Finance Team in Udaan. Her previous experience includes working in EdTech & Construction Industry.  Randhir Shah graduated with a BT-MT degree in Mechanical Engineering  from IIT Kanpur in 2014. He is currently working as a Senior Field Engineer and Customer Engagement Coordinator in Schlumberger, Mumbai for the last 7 years.

Since its inception, RightWalk has prioritized Social Inclusion, and this has remained the hallmark of its practice. At RightWalk, everyone is a Public Policy Entrepreneur who envisions “Social Inclusion,” and cognizes that Public Policy Advocacy is important for the change we wish to see. We have been perpetual in improving the laws, the policies and the systems that impact inclusion and the communities we serve, giving us an opportunity to be one among the most persuasive and compelling messengers of social inclusion on the planet. We have strong network with public and social eco-system manifested by our strong ties with National Informatic Center-UP, WB and Jharkhand, Microsoft Research, Stanford University, Central Square Foundation, and UNICEF who are some of our technology, strategic and thought partners.

SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) is an award-winning non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to saving lives in India since 2008. When COVID-19 hit India in 2020, in particular the capital city-state of Delhi, SLF’s traditional expertise in emergency medical response, first-responder training, and data analytics directly intersected with the needs imposed by the novel virus. Given its existing relationship (through a working MOU) with the Government of Delhi, SLF was immediately requested to help address these problems for the State and people of Delhi. SLF has since helped optimize State’s ambulance service reach people faster, increase the capacity of the emergency response system, and provide direct relief to those affected the most by the pandemic by providing over 10,000 PPE kits for frontline health workers, 80,000 meals for the needy affected by the national lockdown, 60 additional ambulances for the City of Delhi and 100 sanitization machines for ambulances carrying COVID positive patients.

Even the darkest cloud, it is said, has a silver lining. And because most oft-quoted cliches are rooted in reality, myriad acts of kindness, be it home-cooked meals for the ill or arranging an oxygen cylinder, are shining through India’s gravest health emergency.

As India reports upwards of 3.5 lakh fresh Covid cases a day, people infected and isolated find that succour is close at hand sometimes neighbours and other times a faceless name on social media reaching out to help in any which way. Just so they can, without any motive in mind.

From people offering to run errands and home kitchens delivering meals to organisations and individuals stepping in to supply oxygen cylinders, oximeters and the like, the goodness runs like an undercurrent through the tragic times.

And so, realising that entire families are in quarantine in many homes in her city and there is no one to cook nourishing meals for them, Chennai’s Rama Parthasarathy opened up her kitchen on April 14, Tamil New Year Day. The 61-year-old dishes out healthy preparations all vegetarian and sends the food through portals like Dunzo or Porter for a nominal fee.

The inspiration for Rama’s Kitchen, she said, came when her son Aravindh’s friend asked if she could food to the home quarantined as they are not in a position to cook at home.

The story is replicated in umpteen localities across the length and breadth of the country from Chennai to Chandigarh. Lists of home kitchens and thali meals, sometimes at a nominal price and other times free, have been circulating on WhatsApp groups, Twitter and other social media platforms.

Community kitchens have opened up in gated communities. In many places, including Mumbai and Gurgaon, neighbours have set up a roster system to ensure that all quarantined families in their complexes are provided food.

Help comes in many shapes and sizes. Gopi’s e-rickshaw in Lucknow is one of them. With cases rising in the Uttar Pradesh capital, the 45-year-old hasn’t been getting much business but is busy helping those in Shivaji Nagar locality. He gets milk, newspapers and vegetables for those who can’t move out from their homes, and often medicines and even X-Ray reports and the like.

Raja and Shakeel, who run a cycle shop in Lucknow, are also doing their bit, helping people in Sarojinidevi Dharamshala lane with their daily errands. Sometimes, they also go to the nearest post office and banks either to withdraw or deposit money or update the passbook of residents in their area.

They have a kindred spirit in Noida-based activist Kiran Verma who earlier this month posted on Twitter and Facebook that he owned “a humble Maruti Suzuki Esteem in good condition and completely sanitised”.

“If any person, (willing to #DonateBlood or plasma) is finding it difficult to travel around NCR for blood donation. OR don’t have access to good food, I promise to drop you safe (with a smiling face) at a blood bank or provide food at your doorstep,” said the founder of blood donation initiative ‘Simply Blood’.

“The motivation is simply that these are very difficult times and I just wanted to encourage more people to come forward and show that we all are together in this tough time,” he told PTI earlier this month.

Several people are working through their organizations.

In Hyderabad, Azhar Maqsusi, who formed the Sani Welfare Association in 2012, arranges for cooked food to the poor as well as rations and medicines for them.

“The food distribution is continuing daily and is being distributed to 1,000 people. We are also arranging for medicines for those who cannot afford them,” Maqsusi told PTI.

Given the rising number of COVID-19 cases, he has also started the ‘Wall of Face Mask’ at the Dabeerpura flyover to provide free face masks to the people.

And in Chandigarh, H S Sabharwal, a trustee of the Guru Ka Langar Eye hospital, said home quarantined corona patients are being given oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentration machines and oximeters free of charge.

We wanted to serve people who are in need of help during COVID-19 pandemic, said Sabharwal.

Hundreds of miles away, in Kolkata, mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta and climber and model Madhabilata Mitra are among those who have been working to help COVID-19 patients in West Bengal.

Their Covid Care Network has over 400 members, including several doctors, across the state. The helpline number (1800-889-1819) raises awareness about the disease, counsels people and gives information on how and where to get admitted if the need arises.

Besides, Siddhantha and his colleagues also operate an ambulance, with aid from the state government, to ferry patients from home to hospitals.

We have been doing this since last June and there has been a massive response. And now with this surge, there are at least 40-50 calls daily,” Siddhantha told PTI.

The Rajasthani Health Foundation in Chennai is similarly helping with a dedicated team of doctors and nurses at a quarantine facility.

The facility, for those who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms without comorbidities, is meant mostly for economically weaker sections in one-room homes. Food, medicines, oximeters, masks and sanitisers are part of the deal.

“We get about 500 calls per day now on an average. Where are the facilities for so many,” asked Jagadish Prasad Sharma, chairperson of the Foundation.

In Rajasthan, the Narayan Seva Sansthan in Udaipur is among the NGOs working to help people with masks and food.

The NSS Mitra task force’ will be at the forefront in case of any crisis or calamity, said Prashant Agarwal, president of the NGO.

The outreach, sometimes from random strangers, is of huge help. Ask Atreyee Das, a fashion designer by profession, who lives alone in Gurgaon.

After I tested positive for COVID-19, I was feeling really helpless and scared, being away from home and living alone. At one point, my oxygen saturation level dropped to 94-95, which frightened me and forced e to think of consulting a doctor, said Das, who hails from Kolkata.

I reached out to a friend who asked for help on Twitter. Several people, including doctors, responded. Finally, I was able to speak to a doctor from Lucknow, Dr Saurabh Kumar Singh. Even though I am an absolute stranger, Dr Singh helped me in every possible way by prescribing medicines, diet and informing me of the Dos and Don’ts for a COVID patient, she said.

Good samaritans all, whether working in their individual capacities or through their organisations. As COVID continues its relentless march, they are also India’s Covid heroes.

On Wednesday, India saw a record single-day rise of 3,60,960 coronavirus cases, which pushed the total tally to 1,79,97,267 (17.9 million/1.79 crores), while the death toll crossed two lakh following 3,293 fresh fatalities, according to Union health ministry data.

(Courtesy:https://www.eastmojo.com/national-news/2021/04/29/the-good-people-do-indians-reach-out-with-helping-hands-as-covid-spirals/)