-The Hindu In the U.S., India and Brazil, messianic populism, polarisation and insularity have made the pandemic that much worse A year and counting into the greatest health crisis the world has faced in over a century we can identify one overwhelming factor that separates the countries that have done relatively well from those that have been complete disasters:Autocrcy elected autocrats. By any measure the most dismal performers in the democratic world...

-The Hindu States urged to increase near-to-home vaccination centres. More than 1.75 crore COVID vaccine doses are still available with the States and Union Territories, the Health Ministry claimed in a release on Monday, adding that more than 2.73 lakh (2,73,970) vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the States and Union Territories within the next three days. “The Central government has so far provided, both through the free...

-The Telegraph Researchers will document the vaccination status of infected patients admitted with severe disease at 11 sites across the country Medical researchers have launched India’s first study to measure the real-world effectiveness of Covishield and Covaxin by documenting the vaccination status of Covid-19 patients admitted with severe disease at 11 sites across the country. The study by the National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Chennai, a unit of the Indian Council of Medical...

-The Hindu There are recognised ways to overcome the patents hurdle, ensuring social justice and boosting the COVID-19 battle In order to achieve global herd immunity and prevent new strains of COVID-19 from emerging, possibly for years to come, vaccines need to be affordable and available in massive quantities throughout the globe. This can happen through patent owners voluntarily licensing their products to other companies, especially Indian producers who are experienced at...

-The Hindu A monthly cash transfer to informal workers will provide them relief and also revive the economy The majority of India’s working population is today reeling from the impact of multiple crises: a health emergency more ferocious than any in independent India; massive job losses and dramatic declines in incomes from work; and significantly increased mass hunger and worsening nutrition. Many failures The Supreme Court on May 13 directed the Centre and the...