-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...
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India records more than 2.54 lakh cases, over 4,100 deaths on May 21, 2021
-The Hindu Highest number of samples tested on Thursday India recorded 2,54,288 new COVID-19 cases and 4,142 new deaths till 11.10 p.m. on May 21. The country has so far reported a total of 2,62,85,069 cases and 2,95,508 deaths. Tamil Nadu reported 36,184 new infections, followed by Karnataka (32,218) and Kerala (29,673). Maharashtra recorded 1,263 new casualties on the day, followed by Tamil Nadu (467) and Karnataka (353). Maharashtra’s fatalities includes backlog deaths...
More »The fault line of poor health infrastructure -Ashwini Deshpande
-The Hindu As and when India emerges on the other side of the pandemic, bolstering public care systems has to be the top priority As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic ravages India, many bitter home truths and fault lines have been starkly exposed. One of these is the abysmally poor state of the country’s health infrastructure. World Bank data reveal that India had 85.7 physicians per 1,00,000 people in 2017...
More »COVID19 in rural India: Shortage of PHC doctors, preference for quacks and high vaccine hesitancy -Sanjana Kaushik
-GaonConnection.com A recent rural survey of 300 respondents in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, found 38% respondents preferred quacks for treatment, commonly known as nadi babas. Against 14% registering for COVID vaccination, only 4% went ahead for inoculation. These challenges need to be addressed urgently as the virus has spread in rural India. Sixty five per cent of India’s population resides in rural areas, while only 33 per cent of the health infrastructure caters...
More »Delhi High Court quashes GST on oxygen concentrators -Vikas Dhoot
-The Hindu “This is a George Floyd moment for India’s citizens, with the refrain – I can’t breathe," the court says. The Delhi High Court on Friday held the Government’s imposition of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on oxygen concentrators imported for personal use as ‘unconstitutional’ and said oxygen concentrators constitute a life-saving device during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is a George Floyd moment for the citizens of this country. The refrain is...
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