India Coronavirus Dispatch: Covid-19 diverting attention from measles, TB

Moderna vaccine may hold some promise for India, deeper look at the spike in Delhi numbers, and the new strain that could challenge vaccines-news on how the country is coping with the pandemic

Measles outbreak likely in 2021 due to missed vaccination amid Covid, Lancet study says

Researchers have predicted the possibility of a major measles outbreak in 2021 due to missed vaccination amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a study titled "Actions needed now to prevent further increases in measles and measles deaths in the coming years", published in the journal Lancet on 12 November, experts suggest ‘three pillars’ of action needed to address the concerning situation. 

These are: 1) Helping countries vaccinate their children through catch-up and campaigns, 2) countries need to prepare for expected outbreaks, and 3) maintain measles and rubella elimination targets provided by WHO’s new Measles Rubella Strategic Framework 2021-2030 in alignment with the Immunization Agenda 2030. Read more here

Expert Speak: How Covid has impacted efforts to control TB

India, with 2.4 million tuberculosis (TB) cases in 2019, has the most cases (27 per cent) in the world. With attention focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, resources from government TB programmes around the world, including in India, have been diverted to the Covid-19 response, says Grania Brigden, director of The Union, a global organisation working on TB and other lung-related issues. Read more here

Is the Moderna vaccine a promising option for India?

On Monday, 16 November, the US pharma company Moderna joined in the Covid-19 vaccine race by revealing that its candidate vaccine has shown 94.5 per cent efficacy in early phase III trial results. Do the Moderna early phase-3 trial results offer any hope for India? How is it different from the Pfizer vaccine? Read more here

It’s not just food prices, the pandemic has also helped push inflation to 7.6 per cent in India

India’s retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has consistently registered above 6 per cent in the last few months, hitting a nearly six-and-a-half-year high of 7.6 per cent in October.

But the double-digit food inflation isn’t the only thing driving up the prices, the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact too. Read more here

It’s still too early to celebrate the recovery in the Indian economy

The Covid-19 outbreak and the ensuing lockdowns brought the Indian economy to a halt earlier this year. In June, the country’s economy – which was counted among the world’s fastest-growing not long ago – contracted 23.9 per cent.

But as the Narendra Modi government began unlocking commercial activity, there have been visible signs of improvement. In September and October, the country has seen growth in exports and factory output.

However, experts warn that these figures should be taken with a shovel of salt. While some level of normalcy is getting restored, it is too early to predict that this trend will continue. Even as the supply of most goods has stabilised, demand continues to be a cause of concern. Read more here

G614 – the coronavirus strain that will challenge vaccines

One of the factors that will drive the future of the Covid-19 pandemic is how the virus evolves. And last week, scientists announced the first evidence that the virus has evolved to become more transmissible. Read more here

Graphic Story: How and why Is Delhi witnessing India’s highest Covid Spike

Hospitals in Delhi have been witnessing a barrage of Covid-19 cases. Earlier this month, the Delhi government said that the national capital was witnessing a third wave. Here is an analysis to understand how Delhi is struggling to fight the virus and how it compares to other cities. Read on...