India Coronavirus Dispatch: Only half of health workers turning up for jabs

Schizophrenia a big factor for mortality, vaccination drive may strain public health system, and will Pakistan get Covid shots from India?-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

Only half of healthcare workers showing up for vaccine appointments

Vaccine hesitancy is potentially putting India's ambitious vaccination drive in jeopardy as even health workers are wary of receiving the jabs, according to a report The Telegraph. 

Due to widespread online misinformation and suspicion that the Indian government may have authorised Covaxin, a home-grown vaccine, without adequate efficacy data, barely half of India's health workers are showing up for vaccination appointments. As of Thursday, official data shows that only 54 per cent of health workers showed up for their appointments, the report said. Read more here

After age, Schizophrenia biggest risk factor for Covid mortality: Study

Schizophrenia, a chronic brain disorder, could be the second biggest risk factor behind Covid-19 mortality rates, according to a new study, a report in ThePrint said.

The study found that those diagnosed with the schizophrenia spectrum disorder had a 2.7 times higher risk of mortality compared to Covid-19 patients without psychiatric disorders. People with schizophrenia could also face a higher risk of contracting a severe form of Covid-19, the study said. Schizophrenia causes distortions in thinking and perception. Some symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, disorganised speech, and lack of motivation, the report said. Read more here

Will Pakistan get Covid jabs from India?

As Pakistan begins its vaccination drive against Covid-19 next week using free jabs of a China-made vaccine, many believe it is a matter of time before India begins to supply its vaccines to its arch-rival, a report in the BBC said.

Despite poor relations, pharmaceutical trade between the two neighbours has been stable. Pakistan's pharma imports from India were at about $62 million in 2018. Usman Ghani of Sindh Medical Stores, a leading Karachi-based importer of vaccines, told the BBC Pakistan will get vaccines from India in the near future. "We will try our best to get supplies, but it will take time," Ghani said. Read more here

Without additional resources, vaccination programme likely to strain public health system

The cost of inoculating India's entire population could consume much of the union government's allocation to the health ministry of Rs 69,234 crore for the 2020-2021 financial year, according to a report in The Wire.

The programme is likely to burden the country's already fragile public health system without the help of additional resources. Since the start of the pandemic, routine health services have suffered large-scale disruption, according to National Health Mission data.

Between March and April of last year, institutional deliveries slumped by 35%. Infant and maternal mortality rose sharply, together with a 64% drop in child immunisation sessions and 50% drop in BCG vaccinations and oral polio vaccine between January and April 2020, the report said. Read more here

Vaccine diplomacy can help India generate goodwill

Using vaccine diplomacy can be an effective way of using soft power than can allow India to win friends, mend relations and generate goodwill in South Asia and even in the rest of the world, according to experts, a report in CNBC said. India has already sent 1 million Covid-19 vaccine shots to Nepal, 2 million to its eastern neighbour Bangladesh, 150,000 to Bhutan, 100,000 to Maldives and 1.5 million to Myanmar. It has also sent 2 million doses to Brazil, the report said. Read more here