Covid - Handle The Second Wave As An Emergency
The fact is that at the pace that we are vaccinating - 1.5 million daily - it will take us, according to Bloomberg, three and a half years to vaccinate 75 per cent of the population and reach herd immunity. The US is targeting September 2021. If we target only those over 18 years, it will be close to two years. The fact is we cannot wait that long. The second wave in Maharasthra, other states and a third wave in Delhi, Haryana and the like would have consequences that are too severe to imagine. The Indian medical system would be stretched to the limit and shutdowns and curfews would devastate an economy that is just about emerging from its worst year in decades. Any more closures, restrictions and slowdown in consumer spending would break the back of most MSMEs and lead to mass unemployment. Unless we realise that we are in an emergency situation, we will not be able to reach herd immunity this year. If we assume that the population under 18/19 doesn't need to be v...