India Coronavirus Dispatch: Vaccine inequity deepens in 18-44 age group

IAS officer starts online portal for plasma donations, study finds vaccines don't damage placenta in pregnant women, and more-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

Over 360,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 362,727 fresh coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking the cumulative caseload to 23.7 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 4,120 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 258,317. The active caseload is at 3.7 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 19.7 million. As many as 17.7 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 1.8 million were given on Wednesday. Read more

Vaccine inequity deepens in the 18-44 age group

Seven states account for almost 85 per cent of all vaccine doses administered to those in the 18-44 age group so far, which underlines the lack of a transparent formula for allocation and raises critical questions of vaccine equity, a report in The Indian Express said. The data contradicts assurances given by the Modi government to the Supreme Court that to ensure equity, it has worked with private manufacturers to factor in states’ population, the report said. Read here

Increase vaccine manufacturing around the world: global panel

An independent global panel report has concluded that there's a need to raise vaccine manufacturing around the world to contain the spread of the virus, a report in ThePrint said. The report, by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPPR), also said while India is one of the largest vaccine makers globally, it has been lagging in production and delivery. The panel was constituted by World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in May 2020 and is headed by former prime minister of New Zealand Helen Clark and the former president of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Read here

IAS officer launches online portal for plasma donations

An IAS officer has launched a new online portal to ease the process of plasma donation amid an explosion in Covid cases, a report in ThePrint said. Abhishek Singh, who is the Deputy Commissioner in Delhi, launched ‘United by Blood’ a week ago with an aim to create a repository for plasma by establishing real-time and seamless contact between donors and recipients. “The idea behind this initiative was to handle the information asymmetry. There are so many people who genuinely want to help, but are not able to connect with the recipients,” Singh said. Read here

Vaccines do not damage placenta in pregnant women: Study

In a new study, pregnant women who received the Covid-19 vaccine showed no evidence of any harm or injury to the placenta, a report in The Indian Express said. The findings add to growing research that the vaccines are safe for pregnant women. While India’s vaccination protocol recommends against pregnant and lactating women taking the vaccine, some countries such as the US and Brazil have no such bar. The study—published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology—was the first to examine the impact of Covid-19 vaccines on the placenta, a key organ in pregnancy, the authors said. Read here