-The Hindu Preventive vaccination, data analysis, behavioural changes crucial, say epidemiologists Recurring waves of coronavirus infections are inevitable if existing practices such as expanding India's vaccination drive and following COVID protocol are not adhered to, say experts. Earlier last week, PRIncipal Scientific Advisor K. VijayRaghavan had said, “A phase three is inevitable, given the higher levels of circulating virus.” “There is, however, no clear time-line on when this third phase will occur. We should...

-CaravanMagazine.in A series of interviews with over a dozen Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, mahants of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad and various officers associated with the Haridwar Mahakumbh revealed that the former chief minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat was fired overnight in March 2021 for insisting that Mahakumbh should be restricted. At least five mahants and two BJP leaders confirmed that the ABAP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and some Uttarakhand...

-The Hindu ‘Economy taking a severe hit from 2nd wave; Growth hopes fading' The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has engulfed rural India, spreading far beyond the worst hit cities and districts, with nearly half the country’s new cases being reported from rural districts, an SBI research report said on Friday. Red-flagging the slowing vaccination pace from an average 28 lakhs per day in APRIl to just 17 lakhs per day, the...

-Hindustan Times A rapid and universal vaccination programme is essential to control a surge of this magnitude and time is of the essence — for the virus is not standing still The second wave of Covid-19 is overwhelming India. The official death toll is already inching towards 250,000, but this is almost surely a vast underestimate, as the virus sweeps through rural India and kills many whose deaths will never be captured...

India is facing a second and worse wave of Covid-19 pandemic. At this time, the country requires journalism to tell the stories of courage, of loss and grief, of the state of preparedness and about the efforts being made by communities, individuals, civil society and government. Journalists are needed to document with rigour the gaps and lacunae in governance when it appears. At the same time, journalists need to be vigilant about...