- The holiday season is already upon us as extremely popular festivities of Christmas and the New Year are just days away. People frustrated with the pandemic-induced restrictions over the last 18 months or so are itching to let their hair down to soak in the festivities. And the pleasant winter season makes it all the more enticing to indulge in fun-filled revelry in the company of near and dear ones. And Indians too are not averse to entertaining themselves as well. None would raise a finger against people for indulging in leisurely welcoming activities but for the fact that the new variant of the Covid-19 Omicron is fast spreading like wildfire all around the globe.
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- Needless to mention, the holiday season around Christmas is both economically and culturally important in Europe. Unfortunately, governments there are being forced to resort to the unpopular step of curbing mobility through much-despised lockdowns. The Netherlands has begun its fourth lockdown and media reports suggest that other governments in the continent are contemplating doing the same too. The unfurling situation across the globe should ring alarming bells here, especially for state governments here in India. Most disconcertingly, both Covid management data and anecdotal evidence point to laxity all around despite the dangers posed.
- India simply cannot afford even a mild lockdown now because consumption has not yet recovered from the Covid-induced shock. It has been emphasized time and again the importance of getting vaccinated to develop protection against infection. Sadly, we are already lagging behind the initial deadline and this time states bear primary responsibility because supply is not the issue anymore. The Union Government has learned an invaluable lesson after the severe backlash it received for failing to ensure adequate supply of vaccine during the April-May devastating second wave has played its part most admirably.
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- Remember, the Government of India in the monsoon session of Parliament estimated that the adult population would be fully vaccinated by December 2021. As per the records made available, at present, about 555 million, or 60%, of the adult population is fully vaccinated. Look not far for the tardy pace as the unused vaccines are piling up with states. The Union Health Ministry report mentions about 174 million vaccines are lying unused with states. This is inexplicable when the need of the hour is to aggressively push ahead with the vaccination drive. The laxity appears to be influenced by the recent trends in infection.
- Even the Centre appears to be procrastinating in deciding to clear booster shots, at least for frontline workers and older citizens. The pace of vaccination surged between July and September and then for a fortnight after Omicron was first reported in South Africa. Even the testing pattern is showing laxity, which is now around 1 million a day, down from about 1.5 million at the beginning of October. Of course, states need to do better as the second wave taught us that a surge can be sudden and overwhelm healthcare infrastructure in no time. The risk of the current laxity is that it leaves governments with just a lockdown in their toolkit if infections spiral out of control. The state governments should act fast before it is too late.
