India Coronavirus Dispatch: Continued spike sparks fears of second wave

Business leaders urge Modi government to ease grip on vaccine distribution and an arthritis drug that could improve survival odds, and more - news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

IN NUMBERS: Over 18,500 fresh cases reported

India reported 18,599 fresh coronavirus infections on Monday, taking the cumulative caseload to 11,229,398, according to a report in the Scroll. The country saw 97 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 157,853, according to central health ministry data. The active caseload is at 188,747, while the total recoveries have surged to 10,882,798. As many as 20,989,101 people have been inoculated since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 66,666 people received their shots on Sunday. Read more here

A continued rise in cases further intensify fears of a second wave

The recent rise in Covid-19 infections which had appeared to be confined to Maharashtra and Punjab has spread to many other states sparking strong concerns of a second nationwide wave, a report in The Indian Express said. The states of Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh showed a steady dip in cases until the first week of February, but are on an upswing ever since. The trend echoes the national trajectory which has also begun to rise after reaching its lowest levels in the second and third weeks of February when daily cases dipped below 10,000. In contrast to that, daily cases have been averaging at around 18,000 in the last few days. Read more here 

Arthritis drug could improve survival odds against severe Covid: Lancet study

An Indian study in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet has revealed that a drug used to treat arthritis called tocilizumab improves the chances of survival for patients who have contracted a severe form of Covid-19, said a report in ThePrint. According to the researchers, the COVID India Tocilizumab (COVINTOC) trial is the first randomised controlled trial of the arthritis drug carried out entirely in a lower-middle-income country for Covid-19. The study, whose phase 3 trial data was published in the journal, has been authored by a team of 20 researchers that include doctors from Apollo and Fortis Hospitals. Read more here 

Business leaders urge Modi government to ease grip on vaccine distribution

Several high-profile business leaders such as Biocon's Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Wipro's Azim Premji, and Mahindra Group's Anand Mahindra have called on the Modi government to ease its control on the supply and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, a report in news website Quartz said. The business leaders urged the government to allow private firms to participate in the ambitious vaccination programme that has been criticised for being slow to ramp up. The sentiment was echoed by healthcare entrepreneurs who feel the private sector could significantly speed up the vaccine roll-out if only the central government was not as rigid. As of now the Centre buys the vaccines directly from manufacturers and supplies them to public and private hospitals. Read more here 

Maharashtra: Crowding on public transport, recent panchayat polls key reasons for spike

The surge in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks in Maharashtra is due to several reasons that include crowding on public transport and the recent gram panchayat elections, an article in Hindustan Times said based on a report from the central government. The rise is not specific to any region, though it started with the Vidarbha, the report said. Read more here