OVER 5 MILLION CASES IN INDIA
EU chief warns against vaccine nationalism in global race to fight the pandemic
CORONAVIRUS i n f e ctions in India soared past five million on yesterday, as the European Union’s chief warned against “vaccine nationalism” in the frantic global race to battle the disease.
Worldwide cases are rapidly approaching 30 million, with more than 935,000 known Covid-19 deaths, the global economy devastated and nations struggling to contain new outbreaks since the virus first emerged in China late last year.
India, home to 1.3 billion people, has reported some of the highest daily case jumps in the world recently, as a World Health Organisation special envoy described the global pandemic situation as “horrible” and “grotesque”.
“It’s much worse than any of the science fiction about pandemics,” David Nabarro told British members of parliament on Tuesday.
“This is really serious. We’re not even in the middle of it yet. We’re still at the beginning of it.”
The spread of the virus has accelerated in some of the most populous parts of the world such as India, where the latest million infections were detected over just
11 days.
And some experts have warned that the total number of cases could be far higher in the vast nation, which has been easing one of the world’s strictest lockdowns recently despite the surge to help its reeling economy.
“People have lost their fear or are too tired (of) being cautious. They want to be out and earn a living right now,” Jayant Surana, a New Delhi-based entrepreneur, said.
“Everything has now been left to god’s will.”
With scientists rushing to find an effective vaccination seen as the way to end the pandemic, nine candidates are in late-stage human trials, the final stage of clinical testing, according to the WHO.
But the United States has led wealthier nations already buying up millions of doses of promising models, prompting the WHO to call for cooperation to equitably
distribute doses to ensure poorer countries have access.
In an implicit swipe at US President Donald Trump’s approach, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Europe would lead the world in the search for vaccine and support multilateral bodies like the WHO.
“None of us will be safe until all of us are safe, wherever we live, whatever we have. Vaccine nationalism puts lives at risk. Vaccine cooperation saves them.”