The COVID-19 Surge in India: How it happened, what can be done
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| Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries |
This post is dedicated to the people of India, to my friends there who are dear to my heart, and their families for whom I pray all will be well.
I’ve been struck dumb by the resurgence of COVID-19 in India. My friends and their families are at risk, to say nothing of the enormous amount of suffering that affects everyone in the sub-continent and potentially, if not immediately, India’s neighbors.
The implications are vast. As the United Nations and the World Health Organization sound the alarm that aid needs to be sent to India to distribute and deploy vaccines more vigorously and thoroughly, it becomes strikingly obvious that the coronavirus does not recognize borders and has little use for political or religious festivals. Oh. Wait. No, it has a lot of use for those events.
What happened?
Whether it was Trump’s United States or Modi’s India, I find this question smacks of the disingenuous. Failures in both instances can be traced to arrogance and hubris in leadership, a relaxing and re-opening of the country far too soon for political goals, and bungled roll-out and relief efforts. Of course, Modi’s recklessness is well-known and like Trump, he knows his base and how to play them.
The hindsight, the what-ifs are irrelevant. What they should have done they did not, and millions have fallen ill or died.
India appeared to have been an exception to the roiling disruption and death that struck so much of the world. But something stank to my mind. I do not trust narratives that fly in the face of data. While the numbers reported in India were exceptional, it struck me that they were too good. With all due respect to my friends, corruption and frankly, bureaucratic ineptitude are rather rife throughout India’s government at all levels. As early as April of last year, suspicions were confirmed of undercounting of cases and deaths across India. This did not change and continues today. Add into this mix a new variant (among others) afflicting the nation, and the situation grows darker and more muddled.
Sadly, too many people I know were telling me that people were not masking and continuing to go on their way. When I asked a friend why no one in pictures he sent me was wearing a mask, he replied that there was no Coronavirus in the village. This is a rural area in Bihar and an example of why 70% of deaths from any cause take place in the rural areas. All I could ask is for him to be careful. Subsequently, he has told me that he was feeling quite ill and while he is better, he and his son are feeling weak. Is it COVID? I do not know; but I might hazard that guess. People who do not get diagnosed preserve for themselves the luxury of saying that they did not contract it.
As with other countries (particularly, my own), there is a fervent strain of COVID denialism in India, as well. The effects of this are far-reaching; as with the U.S., if a significant number refuses to acknowledge the severity of the virus, let alone refuses to get vaccinated, then herd immunity remains out of reach and aside from the humanitarian and frankly, ethical failure of these refusals, there will be continued negative economic results. Whether from ignorance or willful denial of science and the fact of millions dying is immaterial. The selfishness and arrogance on the part of people to refuse to support efforts to contain and eradicate the coronavirus is no different from that of their leaders and political representatives.
Is it all grim and is India doomed?
It is grim. To pretend otherwise is to make a firm decision to be blind to human suffering. Is it all grim? I am usually a glass half-full guy, but at this moment, I would have to concede that the situation is bleak and daunting. With a huge caveat. Situations are constantly changing and nothing is ever one hundred percent absent of light.
The bright spots are countries that are pledging assistance to India. For India, of course, this is good news; however, I hold some kind of hope that this might point the way for a greater global support movement as the pandemic is going to require additional responses throughout Africa and South America. The world’s governments have shown variable responses to the pandemic; most of them have been less than optimal. To be sure, in many cases, humanity’s reaction to the spread of COVID-19 is reflective not just of poor governance, but also of humanity’s inability to care for one another irrespective of nationality, ethnicity, class, and one would add, age and gender.
In other words, the virus has thrown into sharp relief humanity’s ethical and moral failures.
That said, it has also thrown into sharp relief humanity’s potential to act selflessly for others; we see it in the front line workers and first responders. We see it in aid workers who travel to stricken areas to care for the afflicted, in the medical personnel who put themselves at risk to care for others. We see it in those who make themselves available to comfort those who have lost loved ones.
The future depends on how we as people continue to meet this threat. Right now, it seems that we are not doing a very good job. However, we can be a surprising species. It might well happen that we begin to care more for others – and not out of a sense of self-preservation or because we want to get something out of it – simply because we are made to be compassionate.
[EDIT:] This is a late addition, but it is extremely heartening that the WTO is pushing to lift patent restrictions on vaccine development. For more, this article is a good place to start.
What we can do
India and other countries are going to need support. The Coronavirus does not recognize borders; however, neither does compassion. Following is a list of resources you can support to help further this assistance to India. See also, Sources/Further Reading.
Cribbing from The New York Times: “Before giving money to an organization, make sure you feel comfortable with it. In the United States, sites like Guidestar and Charity Navigator grade nonprofits on their effectiveness and financial health.”
Oxygen
Donate to organizations collecting funds to buy oxygen concentrators. These remarkable devices can filter and generate an infinite supply of medical grade oxygen.
You can learn more about oxygen concentrators here (and find ways to help): http://covidreliefindia.com/o2-concentrator-information/
American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin
Airlink (from CNN: they are “launching "rapid response" airlifts of humanitarian aid, including oxygen and other PPE and medical supplies, to all corners of India”)
Food, hygiene kits, PPEs (Note: – the Rapid Response description is from Travel + Leisure. I found that it covers much of the immediate support many people can give right away.)
Rapid Response: “a local disaster relief agency, is soliciting donations to help it provide food and hygiene kits to frontline workers, migrants, and others in need. It is also working to supply hospitals with pulse oximeters, PPE kits, and hospital beds. For less than $20, you can provide someone with a COVID-19 relief kit, dry food package, or key hygiene items, like masks and sanitizer.
Rapid Response is also recruiting volunteers, including digital participants, who can help to amplify their efforts.”
International General Aid Groups
GIVE.asia – from the New York Times: “a fund-raising platform in Singapore for causes across the Asia-Pacific region, says it is working with the Singapore Red Cross to send ventilators, oxygen concentrators and oxygen generators to India. The platform also hosts fund-raising campaigns by individuals.” It is this last sentence that struck me. If you want to start your own way to help out, this might be a good place to start.
In India
One of the reasons I might suggest donating directly to these organizations is that the feet are on the ground, there is likely far less administrative overhead, and the dollar-rupee conversion may go further quicker.
Youth Feed India and Helping Hands Charitable Trust
Sources/Further Reading
Ways to help
In addition to the resources listed in the body of this post, there are more to be found among these articles.
Andersson, Jasmine. How to help India in the Covid crisis: 12 charities and campaigns to donate to as second wave worsens. iNews. Updated April 29, 2021. (https://inews.co.uk/news/world/india-how-help-covid-crisis-donate-charities-campaigns-second-wave-975851)
CovidRelief India. O2 Concentrator Information. (http://covidreliefindia.com/o2-concentrator-information/)
CovidRelief Indian. Donation Options. (http://covidreliefindia.com/donate-now/)
Farzan, Antonia Noori/The Washington Post. Here's how to help India. NewsIndia Times. April 28, 2021. (https://www.newsindiatimes.com/heres-how-to-help-india/)
Goel, Vritti Rashi. How to help India during its devastating COVID-19 crisis. CBS News. May 5, 2021. (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/india-covid-how-to-help/)
Ives, Mike. How to Help India Amid the Covid Crisis. New York Times. May 5, 2021. (https://www.nytimes.com/article/india-covid-how-to-help.html)
Ryu, Jenna. India is in crisis. Showing empathy is the least we can do. USA Today. April 30, 2021. (https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2021/04/30/india-covid-cases-escalate-how-help-donate-show-empathy/4869483001/)
Thiriuvengadam, Meena. How to Help India During the COVID-19 Pandemic No Matter Where You Are in the World. Travel + Leisure. April 29, 2021. (https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/how-to-help-india-during-covid-19-pandemic)
Vaughn, Ashley. The coronavirus is ravaging India. Here's how you can help. CNN. Updated May 6, 2021 (https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/27/world/iyw-combat-india-coronavirus-crisis/index.html)
Data/Reports/Narratives
Worldometer, Coronavirus – India. (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/india/)
Our World in Data – Asia. (https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/biweekly-growth-covid-cases?region=Asia)
Aljazeera and News Agencies. India's COVID crisis 'beyond heartbreaking': WHO. Aljazeera. April 26, 2021. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/26/india-sets-new-covid-world-record-for-5th-straight-day-live-news)
Choudhury, Shaeli Roy. India accounts for 1 in 3 new Covid cases being recorded. Here is its second wave in 5 charts. CNBC. May 3, 2021. (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/india-covid-crisis-charts-show-the-severity-of-the-second-wave.html)
FRANCE 24 with AFP. India's Covid-19 death toll passes 200,000 as WHO says variant found in 17 countries. France 24. April 28, 2021. (https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20210428-india-s-covid-19-death-toll-passes-200-000-as-who-says-variant-found-in-17-countries)
Kaur, Ruhani. First Person: Panic as COVID-19 ‘tsunami’ hits India. UN News. April 29, 2021. (https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/04/1090882)
Nebehay, Stephanie. India accounts for 46% of world's new COVID-19 cases, quarter of deaths. Reuters. May 5, 2021. (https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-accounted-one-four-covid-19-deaths-globally-last-week-who-2021-05-05/)
Political/Societal/Operational Response issues/failures
Akbar, Hassan. Modi's Hubris. Jinnah Institute. March 17, 2020. (https://jinnah-institute.org/publication/modis-hubris/)
Bajekal, Naina. India's COVID-19 Crisis Is Spiraling Out of Control. It Didn't Have to Be This Way. Time.com. April 28, 2021. (https://time.com/5964796/india-covid-19-failure/)
Bist, Jagadish Prasad. Modi's Covid Fiasco. The Kathmandu Post. May 1, 2021. (https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2021/05/01/modi-s-covid-fiasco)
Collinson, Stephen. Covid-19 exposed populist leaders like Modi and Trump. CNN. April 26, 2021. (https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/26/world/meanwhile-in-america-populism/)
Ganguly, Meenakshi. India’s Leaders Obsessed with Criticism, Not Medical Shortages. Human Rights Watch. May 4, 2021. (https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/05/05/indias-leaders-obsessed-criticism-not-medical-shortages)
Khaitan, Shreya, IndiaSpend.com. More Indian children are gettinginfected with coronavirus in thesecond wave. Scroll.in. May 5, 2021. (https://scroll.in/article/994023/more-indian-children-are-getting-infected-with-coronavirus-in-the-second-wave)
Michaels, David. Coronavirus: Paying the Price of Science Denialism… Again. The Wire - Science. March 30, 2020. (https://science.thewire.in/health/us-coronavirus-trump-republicans/)
Pundit, Pallavi. COVID-19 Denialists and Anti-Maskers Are Gaining Momentum in India. Vice. August 20, 2020. (https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxqkj5/coronavirus-denialism-and-anti-mask-movement-are-gaining-momentum-in-india)
Sharma, Mihir. India’s State Is Failing Its Covid Test. Bloomberg. April 29, 2021. (https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-04-30/covid-19-exposes-failures-of-india-s-government)
Taimur, Benzad. Has India lost its war against Covid-19? 24 Digital. April 25, 2021. (https://www.24newshd.tv/25-Apr-2021/has-india-lost-its-war-against-covid-19)
Statistical and Data Under-reporting
Crawford, Alex. COVID-19: India crematoriums 'underreporting bodies' as suspicion grows over true number of coronavirus deaths. Sky News. 29 April 2021. (https://news.sky.com/story/india-crematoriums-underreporting-bodies-as-suspicion-grows-over-true-number-of-coronavirus-deaths-12288828)
Johnson, Carla K. Why number of COVID cases in India is exponentially higher than reported. Eyewitness News, ABC (New York). May 2, 2021. (https://abc7ny.com/india-covid-cases-coronavirus-case-count-underreported-in-vaccine/10569181/)
More, Manoj Dattatrye. BJP alleges underreporting of Covid deaths by PCMC administration, civic chief says each death accounted for. The Indian Express. April 25, 2021. (https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/pimpri-chinchwad-municipal-corporation-accused-of-hiding-covid-deaths-7288234/)
NDTV News Desk. India Has Not Reported 3.4 Million Covid Cases. NDTV. November 26, 2020. (https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/why-official-covid-19-numbers-are-misleading-2329668)
Pulla, Priyanka. India Is Undercounting Its COVID-19 Deaths. This Is How. Science: The Wire. 04/08/2020. Note that this was one of the earliest articles examining the issue of underreported data. (https://science.thewire.in/health/india-mccd-comorbidities-covid-19-deaths-undercounting/)
Yeung, Jesse. As Covid sweeps India, experts say cases and deaths are going unreported. CNN Philippines. April 27, 2021. (https://cnnphilippines.com/world/2021/4/27/india-covid-underreporting.html)
Ramifications/Effects
Ameen, Furquan. What are the global implications of India’s second COVID wave?. Aljazeera. May 4, 2021. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/4/what-are-the-global-implications-of-indias-second-covid-wave)
Kambhampati, Uma S. India COVID crisis could derail world economy. UPI. April 30, 2021. (https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Voices/2021/04/30/india-India-COVID-19-crisis-derail-world-economy/4801619719418/)
Worland, Justin. Fossil Fuels, Climate Change and India's COVID-19 Crisis. Time. May 6, 2021. (https://time.com/6046334/india-covid-19-climate-change/)
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