Covid-19 in India has brought some special lessons
EVEN those, who did not believe like the Biblical Thomas can now agree with me that Covid-19 exists and is still a menace. It was no surprise that India ran short of oxygen and other important drugs with at least 40 countries coming on board to o er assistance to the Asian giant
Ventilators, oxygen concentrators, drugs and other hospital equipment have been airlifted to India, something that could have been done long back. It is really a calamity considering that India has a population of 1.38 billion, the second highest after China that has 1.44 billion people.
Just in January 2021, India was buoyed by a vaccination drive fuelled by locallymade vaccines, but the coronavirus is a stealthy and patient predator. About 66 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines were exported to at least 80 countries, a move that gave hope that Covid-19 was now getting under control.
It was just ve weeks ago when the Indian Health minister, Harsh Vardhan, declared victory over the virus with exultation, whistling and ululation. No-one ever imagined that in the coming four weeks, there was going to be a health mischance. Today, India nearly clocks 400 000 new cases daily with o cial deaths now hovering around 3 500 daily, a gure which seems far less than what people witness on the ground. People are leaving this world en-masse and it is a pity that the scourge has no obvious signs of remission, a characteristic that leaves everyone abbergasted. India has a double mutant variant which carries two mutations including the L452R and E484Q that have been seen separately before, but never together in one variant. This strain is a perplexing one.
Vaccination has been introduced, but it seems to be the privilege of the wealthy. The richest countries, which account for only 16% of the world’s population, have administered nearly 48% of the vaccine doses. Low income countries account for a miserable 0.2% of the vaccine doses. Many people in this world are actually clamouring for vaccines which are even very di cult to acquire. Today, there are unbearable vaccine queues in India with health o cials getting worried about possibilities of superspreaders.
The Zimbabwean government has done its best to acquire vaccines, but the uptake is very low with the incredulous citizens painting a black picture on the vaccines. Mashonaland East has recorded an embarrassing gure of less than 3 000 people, who have been vaccinated yet the vaccine is for free.
People are given the carte blanche to be vaccinated, only to snub a free process that gives them protection against
Covid-19. Can we make hay while the sun is still shining?
The Indian attack should teach us some lessons as a country especially about the brevity of the Covid-19 on humanity. Everyone should start to know that we are not yet out of the health quagmire, instead, we should guard against complacency. The following are some of the observations emanating from the rapid Indian attack:
Covid-19 waves may be slow to appear, but will be on the way. India is experiencing a second wave currently, a wave that hit Zimbabwe and many African countries in December, January and February. While many thought that the dreaded second wave was nowhere near, India is in its worst predicament at the moment.
Madagascar is waking up from slumber and it was just last week when it sent a whole national airline to ferry oxygen tanks from China. Africa needs prayers for sure! Kenya is reeling under a third wave, a sign that sooner than later, we may face the same misery.
Lifting restrictions early is a recipe for disaster and we wonder why life-loving citizens do not observe the stipulated public health measures like masking up, social distancing, hand-washing or sanitisation. The blunder made by the Indian nationalist government is now costing the entire nation. There were large political gatherings by the Bharaiya Janata Party and at the Kumbh Mela, Hindu religious festival, which have been pinpointed as superspreader events after daily cases dropped to below 10 000 in early
February. The number of new cases has multiplied 40 times just six weeks later. This is a humanitarian catastrophe.
I have heard of so many people, who want to have restrictions on public gatherings lifted, but this in reality is not the right time to do so. Opening up the arts industry, weddings and church gatherings full-time may be catastrophic at the moment. If the second wave attack that Zimbabwe witnessed in January was going to be sustained for six months, by now each and every family could have lost at least two people. Let us exercise patience on activities as the battle against Covid-19 rages on.
Vaccination is of importance against Covid-19 and snubbing the vaccines is at your own peril. It is unfortunate that India has only vaccinated about 130 million of its population, a gure which is about 10% and insigni cant if herd immunity is to be achieved. Israel has the highest vaccination rate in the world with more than 60% of the entire population having been vaccinated.
Medical personnel remain very key in health issues. The dedicated sta should receive plaudits for standing tall against Covid-19 in Zimbabwe. Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, scientists and many others have worked tirelessly to combat the spread of the virus. For sure, our nation needs to have special appreciation of the health sector. Keep yourself healthy, guard against complacency and together we will sail through!