Covid-19 Crisis in india

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many lives worldwide. It has put a stop to normal lives, the economy, and caused a lot of deaths. Recently in India, the COVID-19 pandemic has reached a drastic crisis, where people are barely surviving the pandemic. On Wednesday, May 19, 2021, India reported 4,529 deaths in one day, topping the previous record set by the U.S on January 12. According to The Wall Street Journal, this was the ninth time in May that India recorded more than 4,000 deaths in a single day.

To add on to these critical issues, Indian hospitals started running short on medical supplies, oxygen, and COVID-19 medications. Even the crematoriums were running short of space and wood, causing bodies to start piling up. This high number of cases has drained supplies of medical oxygen. This is a major challenge that India is currently facing.

What are other countries doing to help India out during this lack of oxygen crisis? India is a country populated by 1.3 billion people and is now the “Global epicenter of the pandemic,” according to Quartz. It is extremely important that India receives help from other countries in order to survive this pandemic. So far, Germany has sent 23 mobile oxygen-generating plants for use in military units tending to COVID-19 patients. The Pakistani government is also sending medical equipment, despite the two countries being enemies. They have offered to provide support to India, including ventilators, fleets of ambulances, and are currently awaiting clearance from the Modi government. Saudi Arabia has sent 80 metric tons of liquid oxygen, and the UK rushed 140 ventilators and 495 oxygen generators to Delhiu, according to The Guardian. The United States is also sending “oxygen supplies, COVID-19 tests, drug treatments, and personal protective equipment,” and health experts are pushing the U.S. to lift the ban on raw materials for vaccine production and redirect its stockpile of AstraZeneca doses to India. Bloomberg reports that the Biden administration is sitting on 20 million doses of the Oxford University-developed drug. The U.S. also previously provided $5.9 million in COVID-19 relief to India. It is incredible to see different countries come together to provide relief and aid to India during these difficult times.

Some neighboring places, like Bangladesh, have announced that they will close their borders with India to prevent the spread of the virus. Also, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, urged people to continue to follow COVID lockdown protocol and get vaccinated; however, he has left the mandates and rules up to different states in India to make a decision, according to their case numbers. This did not end with good results, due to the actions of the states' governors. Many are saying that the prime minister showed a lack of responsibility by not taking proper COVID actions earlier on and enforcing more strict social distancing rules, which led to the rise in COVID cases. His failure to lead is deepening India's COVID-19 crisis. Their healthcare system has collapsed and the prime minister needs to take serious precautions and responsibility during this deadly second wave. In the past, he provided vaccines to other surrounding countries in order to bring up India's economy; however, he neglected his own people. This has resulted in India's population to suffer through vaccination shortages and many poor people are unable to get access to vaccination sites and doses. Many people are calling their own prime minister out for hosting election rallies and supporting large congregations during a pandemic. The government should have taken action and enforced rules for lockdown before the cases got out of control and the healthcare system completely shut down.

This second wave in India has also brought awareness to a major situation, which is the privilege present in some countries. Many countries currently have access to vaccines and proper healthcare systems. However, many are taking these public health resources for granted and showing a lack of appreciation, whereas many people in high-risk countries are dying for the vaccines-- figuratively and literally. The privileges afforded to the United States are a huge deal.