Covid spread to India

Five Things That Happened Last Week (And What To Make Of Them)

Will Covid’s resurgence in China spread to India

Public memory is notoriously short-lived. As a new and highly contagious Covid virus strain spreads in China with fears that it might kill more than a million people in the coming months, the response in India has ranged from being blase and indifferent to moderate concern. Some reactions to the situation in China can even seem downright smug. Adar Poonawala, CEO and founder of Serum Institute of India, said in a tweet that  “we need not panic given our excellent vaccination coverage and track record. We must continue to trust and follow the guidelines set by the Government of India.” 

Serum Institute of India, an Indian company, is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines and the chief supplier of Covid vaccines in India. In late 2021, the Serum Institute announced that it had produced more than 1.25 billion doses of the Covishield vaccine (an Oxford/Astra-Zeneca formulation). That number of doses is a highly laudable achievement but how effective have Covid vaccines been? The instances of people who have been vaccinated with multiple doses of anti-Covid vaccines succumbing to the virus run into millions globally and as of now the efficacy of different vaccines in preventing infection is largely unproven. Some theories suggest that “fully vaccinated” people can still get infected by the virus but the symptoms can be mild. To be sure, however, there have been significant numbers of vaccinated individuals who have required serious medical care when they got infected by the virus.

Meanwhile, the Covid virus has been mutating continuously. The current strain that is spreading in China has been called the BF.7 and is a sub-variant of the Omicron strain. BF.7 first emerged a few months ago when it started replacing earlier variants.

What do we know about the BF.7 strain? First, the fact that it is less likely to be neutralised by antibodies from vaccinated people or those infected by the virus than say the original virus emanating from Wuhan in 2020 was. Second, the new variant has an R-value of 10-18. That means one infected person can transmit the strain to 10 to 18 other people. Third, BF.7 is more likely to spread quickly and infect or re-infect people, including those who are vaccinated.

Last week, a CNN report based on leaked notes from Chinese health officials suggested that “almost 250 million people in China may have caught Covid-19 in the first 20 days of December”. If that is right, it means around 18% of China’s 1.4 billion people have been infected by Covid. That is a staggering number and the rest of the world needs to take note of that as countries cobble together strategies to prevent a resurgence of the virus in their regions. 

In India, when the virus first broke out in 2020, it spread mainly because of unpreparedness. Isolation, lockdowns and administering vaccines is a daunting tasks in a country with a population that rivals China’s but has health and other infrastructure that may arguably be much less efficient than in China, which is economically far stronger than India. 

Last week India’s health minister advised people to take precautions against Covid-19, including getting vaccinated and wearing masks. Random testing of international travellers arriving at Indian airports has also been mandated. The second phase of Covid’s spread in India took a huge toll on lives, livelihoods and the economy in India. We also witnessed how difficult it is to implement and ensure restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the virus. It is time for the central government and local authorities to devise strategies well in advance to check the virus’ spread instead of waiting till it is too late or being complacent about the vaccine coverage that the country has achieved.

Meanwhile, in China…

After spreading in China’s bigger cities and towns, the new variant of the Covid virus could now spread in rural areas as migrant workers go back to their villages for the Chinese New Year in late January. More than 500 million Chinese live in rural China and after the country removed the restrictions on the movement of people, they could face the risk of infection as workers come back from the cities. 

The risk of the virus spreading in rural China is higher because of the lack of adequate healthcare infrastructure and already there are estimates that cases are surging in the rural areas. 

The Nordics beckon Indian techies

India’s information technology professionals have now become so ubiquitous globally that much of the international perception of India’s human resource skills centres only around that: India is almost synonymous with software coders… of, if you like, coders who are cheaper than those in most other parts of the world. The number of coders in India is roughly estimated to touch 10 million in 2023. Little wonder that the world looks at India’s skilled professional hordes of software coders and programmers huddled in front of screens busy coding. In many parts of the world, it represents a cheap source of software professionals. The latest to focus on that pool of skills is tiny Finland.

With a population of 5.5 million, Finland is a tiny country but its technology needs are big. Recently, Finland’s employment minister Tuula Haatainen visited India and signed an agreement that is aimed at making it easier for Indian software techies to move to Finland and live and work there. The Hindu quoted Ms. Haatainen who said: “We see that India has such a pool of professional talent that we need in Finland. We need more workforce, we need talent, we need professionals, skilled people. If they want to enter Finland, I see that it is valuable for both sides, that people go abroad, and also earn and learn something there.”

Finland is an ageing country where the workforce is only around 2.5 million. But the needs on the technology front are high. But Finland isn’t the first choice of Indian techies. There are just around 1500 Indian students in the country and 15,000 Indians living there. But Finland wants to see the number of work-related Indian immigrants double and that of students treble by 2030.

Was the World Cup 2020 final the best ever?

Well, many think so. When Argentina won this year’s FIFA World Cup in a nail-biting final against France, and the image of the team’s captain and superstar Lionel Messi being hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates while carrying the trophy became iconic, many things were achieved altogether. Messi, 35, capped his career (he is to retire soon) by winning the sport’s topmost trophy; Argentina wrested the title of world champions from dominance by European countries since 2006; and, on a more personal front, it was the victory of Messi against his Paris Saint-Germain club teammate Kylian Mbappé, another top star of this year’s tournament. 

The Argentina-France final was won on penalty kicks after the two teams drew 3-3 in regular play. The results: Argentina won 4-2 on the kicks. Several analyses of finals over the past years have suggested that this year’s finals have been the best both in terms of the run-up to the finals as well as the final match itself. 

Imran Khan in a sex tape “scandal”

Fake or not, Pakistan’s former president and one-time star cricketer who enjoyed a high glamour quotient in his younger days is caught in the midst of a “scandal”. Audio clips have been leaked on YouTube by a Pakistani journalist that purportedly depicts Khan in intimate conversations with a woman. 

Khan lost power earlier this year and his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has alleged that the leaked conversations are fake and aimed at discrediting him. There are allegations that the tapes may have emanated from the current prime minister and Khan’srival, Shebaz Sharif’s office.

The said audio clips are graphic and the conversations, allegedly between Khan, 70, and two identified women refer to intimate acts of sex and some crude references. 

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Production Of Cervical Cancer

Scamsters Posing As Poonawala Dupe SII Of Over Rs 1Cr

An FIR was launched against some unidentified persons for cheating the Serum Institute of India for more than Rs. 1 crore, said the officials on Sunday.

The fraudsters duped the SII in the name of the institute’s CEO Adar Poonawala. The incident came to light only after a hefty amount of Rs. 1.1 crore was transferred by one of the directors, Satish Deshpande.
As per official records, the scamsters posed as Poonawala and sent WhatsApp messages to Deshpande and asked to transfer money to various bank accounts immediately.

Believing that messages are from Adar Poonawala more than Rs. 1,01, 01,554 crore was transferred to those accounts by the finance department in different transactions, only to belatedly realise that the SII was duped.

“After realising that Adar Poonawala had never asked for such transfers or sent messages to the Finance Manager of SII made a written complaint in Bundgarden police station and later, police registered an FIR under the section of IPC 419, 420,34 and IT Act for probing the case further,” said Pune Police.

The transactions were made on September 7 and 8 this year.

Further investigations are underway. (ANI)

Rising COVID Cases In China Is Concerning: Poonawala | Lokmarg

India’s Vaccine Victory Carries A Parsi Punch

Smarting at China for long over several issues – border tensions that have compelled, among other things, minimizing of economic ties, boosting of “all-weather friend” Pakistan, being opposed at diplomatic forums and being surrounded in the region south of the Himalayas – India has found a sure and significant counter in the shape of vaccine against Coronavirus.

Even if small and short-term, it is smart, and has the world taking note – a world that is suffering from the pandemic. The Narendra Modi Government deserves full marks for launching “vaccine diplomacy” when confronted by a myriad issues. That includes being among the top five nations among the Corona-hit.

Its aspirations to become vishwa guru – teacher to the world – may seem tall and are contentious, even at home. But this one, emerging as vishwa chikitsak – doctor to the world, at least a good part of it, and partly, is eminently achievable and is already underway.

Beginning January 16, countries far and near are benefitting on something they direly need. That brings goodwill – hopefully, also blessings from individuals and families those who get cured. A vaccine is tika or teeka. It also carries several other connotations. The one that fits in here is tilak, the mark on Indian forehead to depict success, with humility. And why not, when India has already been the wold’s largest vaccine-maker?

Five million doses of Oxford University-invented Astra Zeneca vaccine, produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) are being gifted to Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Cambodia and Seychelles. Each of them is in dire need of the vaccine due to high incidence, and each one is hit economically by the pandemic. Inoculation began within three days of the vaccine being flown by special flights.

This has been India’s traditional area of regional influence where China, with its deep pockets and offers of huge projects has grabbed in the recent years.

Predictably, given perennially adversarial relations, India has ignored Pakistan that has yet to get a firm Chinese commitment of Sinovac. It is in queue for free doses while awaiting Astra Zeneca and Russia’s Sputnik for “emergency use.”

ALSO READ: A Vaccine Of Hope

India has raced ahead when China has yet to begin because of the uncertainties attached to its vaccine trials. Indeed, there is also the psychological factor about China being accused – real or propaganda – of causing Covid-19 at Wuhan and as it spread, not informing the world.

This is India’s defining moment. Besides goodwill and prestige, it is good business also, coming when its economy is struggling to recover from the lows experienced long before Covid-19 struck last year. Seven Indian companies are racing to produce vaccines and Covaxin of the state sector Bharat Biotech is already being administered.

Thanks to the virus, the Indian pharmaceutical sector, slated to export worth USD 25 billion by end-March, can expect to export much more.

To some of the neighbours, including Bangladesh that is to get three million doses for free as a goodwill gesture, commercial exports are scheduled to let the SII recover its investment and effort.  

India has contracted to sell SII-made Covishield to Brazil, Morocco, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia. Flights carrying the precious cargo took off to these countries on January 22. Order books are full to conduct exports to more nations.

India plans to export vaccines to the other poor and middle-income countries of Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia as part of an arrangement with GAVI, the vaccine alliance. This should boost its and soft-power on even a larger scale than yoga.

It has not been easy, however. A major pharma producer, despite its growing strength, India has faced an undercurrent of propaganda in the global market about the reliability of its medicines after the US Food and Drugs regulator sent out adverse notices.

Emerging as the pharmaceutical powerhouse of the region has increased the reliability of India’s healthcare sector on which its neighbours are heavily dependent. This could further bolster medical tourism.

ALSO READ: ‘We Moved 1.1cr Vaccines In 24 Hours’

The least-talked part of this vaccine story is the role of the tiny Parsi community of fire-worshipping Zoroastrians, to which SII’s owner, Cyrus Poonawala and his CEO son Adar belong.

A story on social media that remains unconfirmed is that of Cyrus offering the Bombay Parsi Panchayat to reserve over 60,000 doses of Covishield for the community. Ratan Tata, head of the house of Tata, politely declined: “we are Indian first, then Parsis. We will wait our turn in line.”

This is the modesty for which the Parsis are well-known. But there is no escaping some details, even allowing for an element of exaggeration.

+ SII’s Covishield is stored in glass vials produced by a Parsi firm Schott Kaisha, owned by Rishad Dadachanji.

+ They are transported with dry ice manufactured by another Parsi, Farokh Dadabhoy.

+ They are delivered by Tata Motors Trucks.

+ Vaccine batches transported by GoAir of Jeh Wadia and stored in refrigerators made by Godrej, both renowned Parsi family enterprises.

Despite being a miniscule fraction of the 1.3 billion Indian population, the Parsis have never asked for Minority benefits. They have always punched above their class and the numbers.

Literate, industrious and not averse to leaving shores unlike the traditional Hindus, they became indispensable to Britain’s global reach. One of their tasks was carrying opium to China. But they also fought the British: Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Mehta, Bhicaiji Cama were among them.

They responded to overtures from the Mughal kings and later to the early British settlers, taking up shipping, banking, construction and brokerage. They were the pioneers who built a half of Mumbai.

It would take several pages to list only the names of Parsis who have made an outstanding contribution to independent India’s economy, defence, atomic energy, music, literature, science, sports and cinema. Their reach is now global.

Way back in 2012, a top community official told the Mumbai High Court that its definition of a poor Parsi was one who earned less than Rs 90,000 per month. This is many times more than India’s per capita annual income of $1,876.53 or Rupees 136,794.

Is the community India’s richest? It does have poor members. But then think of India’s Tata, Godrej, Pallonji, Wadia, Avari and Bhandara of Pakistan, Lord Karan Bilimoria of Britain – to name only the industrialists and businessmen.

Almost all of them have institutionalised philanthropy giving billions away. Although all faiths preach piety and charity, the Parsis (“thy name is charity”) lead. It is riches well earned, well spent. It will be tragic if their population dwindles to almost zero by the end of this century.

The writer can be reached at mahendraved07@gmail.com