Mansukh Mandaviya, the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, has provided state-wise details of prisoners vaccinated as on August 4, 2021. Only 22,345 prisoners have been fully vaccinated across all 37 states and Union Territories (UT). The Prison Statistics of India report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2019 has revealed that a total of 4,78,600 prisoners have been confined in various jails across the country, as on December 31, 2019. Arguably, the number will be way higher taking into account all arrests made in the last one year.  

Out of the total 1,87,453 doses administered, only 1,65,108 prisoners have received their first shot. 15 states and UTs don’t have a single prisoner who is fully protected against Covid-19. They are-Andamans, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Puducherry and Tripura. Shockingly, the National Capital has only 2 prisoners who have received their first shot!

Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of prisoners who have been fully inoculated (as of August 4, 2021) at 2,826, followed by Uttar Pradesh (2,789), Rajasthan (2,368), and Gujarat (2,237). Uttar Pradesh (24,230) has the highest number of prisoners who have received their first dose, followed by Maharashtra (21,868) and Bihar (17,626).

Mandaviya’s answer also read, “Covid-19 vaccination is an ongoing and dynamic process, which is being guided by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) on the basis of concurrent scientific evidence. It is expected that eligible beneficiaries aged 18 years and above, including prisoners, will be vaccinated by December 2021.”

Earlier during the budget session, the Home Affairs Ministry had failed to provide data about the number of prisoners who have tested positive for the virus and succumbed to it, reported SabrangIndia. Approximately 70 percent of Indian jails consist of undertrials, and despite orders from the Supreme Court to release inmates on interim bail to decongest prisons, a rough total of 1,92,125 undertrials have continued to languish in jails, against 1,38,416 inmates who have been released on parole/bail over the last one year.

The answer may be read here:

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The post 4.7 lakh prisoners, but only over 22,000 fully vaccinated! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Jan Swathya Abhiyan (JSA), India’s national network of civil society groups and people’s movements working for health rights, condemns the central government’s failure and demands that both central and state administration fulfill their duties in protecting people’s lives. It has demanded a slew of policy measures aimed at improving public access to healthcare and vaccination amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. JSA has shared their observations and a list of obligations of central and state governments in a statement. 

As many as four lakh new Covid-cases and over 3,500 deaths were officially recorded on May 1, 2021 marking yet another grim milestone for India’s Covid-crisis. Major cities, districts continue to struggle to provide basic healthcare to people. JSA also took note of how cremation grounds overflowed, how Maha-kumbh, election rallies and ignorance of social distancing ran rampant in the country despite explicit warnings by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and the Family Welfare Committee about an impending second wave. 

JSA called for a proper plan of action against the third wave and warned from repeating the previous mistake of laxity. The government erred greatly in scaling back measures for health systems strengthening. This left the whole nation vulnerable to the second wave catastrophe that followed. The organisation said that all democratic institutions, scientists, health movements and people must remain vigilant to keep this from happening again.

Accordingly, it reminded governments of their obligation to: 

• provide free treatment, transport and healthcare for all
• beds with oxygen for critical Covid care 
• access to quality testing 
• effective contact tracing, quarantine and isolation facilities 
• universal vaccination with priority to the vulnerable
• prevent violation of civil rights and liberties, etc.

The complete list of government obligations along with a detailed list of urgently required policy measures are listed below:

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The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to clarify how it plans to mitigate the large digital divide in the country as vaccinations are available through online registration for people in the 18-44 age group. The bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Ravindra Bhat and Nageswara Rao also questioned the Centre on how it plans to manage the logistics and storage of vaccines when the Centre was not procuring them in the Phase III. The court cited various government reports to demonstrate the lack of access to the internet among the larger population, and how this will impinge their right to equality and right to health.

Vaccine logistics

The court also sought clarifications from the Centre on how it plans to manage the logistics of vaccines. The court was certainly more inclined towards the Centre procuring the vaccine to ensure that cold storage facilities that are required to store vaccines are not overwhelmed. The court also raised concern that the limited logistics available would have to be shared between states and the Centre if the current policy of Phase III continues. The court asked the Centre to provide the following clarifications:

• The manner in which cold storage equipment capacity is being balanced between the Central and State/UT Governments. The manner in which the States/UTs are managing the logistical burden for vaccinating persons aged between 18-44 years, along with persons aged over 45 years.
• Whether cold storage facilities in India have increased for the Covid-19 vaccination drive; the present numbers, and comparison with the numbers prior to March 2020;
• Whether the cold storage equipment is indigenously manufactured or is imported. If it is imported, the steps which have been taken to start indigenous manufacturing.
• The steps being taken to improve the cold storage management for vaccines which may require lower temperature to be stored, compared to the ones which currently have approval in India.

Digital Divide

The court also highlighted concerns of the marginalised sections of the society who are unable to register for vaccination on the digital platform due to digital divide. The Centre, in its affidavit, put forth how it plans to reach rural areas by stating that citizens who do not have access to the internet can take help from friends or NGOs. It also stated that gram panchayats have internet access at their Common Service Centres (CSC) and that Cowin allows one person to register 4 persons with the same mobile number, assuming that 1 in 4 persons belonging to marginalised sections and rural areas have a mobile phone with an active internet and the capacity to pay for internet. The Centre has categorically stated that walk-ins for the 18-44 age group cannot be permitted due to scarcity of vaccine and to avoid crowding at vaccine centres.

To demonstrate a digital divide in the country, the court cited data from survey on “Household Social Consumption: Education” conducted between July 2017-June 2018 by the National Statistics Office which revealed that only 24% households had internet access during the period and only 15% of rural households had internet access. Further, it cited Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s report titled “Wireless Data Services in India” where it stated that less than 50% of the total population subscribe to wireless data. The report also stated that to have internet access over the phone, a person below poverty line would have to spend 5% of his/her income for it.

Further, the court also debunked Centre’s remedial measure that people in rural areas can go to gram panchayat’s CSC to access internet by citing the Annual Report of CSC for 2019-20, published by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology where it stated that around 13,000 Gram Panchayats in India do not have a CSC. Further, in remote areas it is possible that there are issues of bandwidth and connectivity which will disable people from registering for the vaccine.

“A vaccination policy exclusively relying on a digital portal for vaccinating a significant population of this country between the ages of 18-44 years would be unable to meet its target of universal immunisation owing to such a digital divide,” the court observed. The court rightly pointed out that the marginalised sections will bear the brunt of this accessibility barrier having serious implications on the fundamental right to equality and the right to health of persons within the above age group. Thus, the court sought further clarifications:

• It may not be feasible to require the majority of our population to rely on friends/NGOs for digital registrations over CoWIN, when even the digitally literate are finding it hard to procure vaccination slots.
• The issue of over-crowding may also arise at CSCs in rural areas where people would have to visit constantly in hope of a vaccine slot opening up.
• Certain vaccination centres may be earmarked for on-site registrations for the population aged between 18-44 years without the existing conditions prescribed in the circular dated 24 May 2021, potentially with a view to prioritize those with co-morbidities/disabilities/other socio-economic vulnerabilities. Alternatively, whether specific daily quotas may be introduced for on-site registration at each centre or specific centres.
• This policy may not allay the issue of hesitancy which may arise from approaching a State authority (such as the District Immunization Task Force) to obtain registration for the vaccination. Whether on-site registration with self-attestation of age to ensure widespread vaccination can be provided.
• The CoWIN platform and other IT applications like Aarogya Setu should be made available in regional languages. The timeline for ensuring the availability of the platform in multiple regional languages.
• Conducting a disability audit for the CoWIN website and other IT application like Aarogya Setu to ensure that they are accessible to persons with disabilities.

Issues with Cowin portal

The court also went ahead and pointed out the many issues facing the Cowin portal such as issues with the Captcha, absence of keyboard support for navigating the website and gave the following suggestions:

• The seven filters, which inter alia, include age group, name of vaccine and whether the vaccine is paid or free, are not designed accessibly. This issue can be addressed by creation of a drop-down list;
• While visually challenged persons can determine the number of available vaccine slots, one cannot find out the day those slots correspond to. This can be resolved by ensuring that table headers correspond to associated cells;
• Keyboard support for navigating the website is absent;
• Adequate time should be given to disabled users to schedule their appointment without the possibility of being automatically logged off; and
• Accessibility protocols, such as use of appropriate colour contrasts, should be adhered to.

Additional directions

While seeking specific details from the Centre on vaccine policy, in its next affidavit, the court sought the following additional information:

1. The data on the percentage of population that has been vaccinated (with one dose and both doses), as against eligible persons in the first three phases of the vaccination drive. This shall include data pertaining to the percentage of rural population as well as the percentage of urban population so vaccinated;
2. The complete data on the Central Government’s purchase history of all the Covid-19 vaccines till date (Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V). The data should clarify: (a) the dates of all procurement orders placed by the Central Government for all 3 vaccines; (b) the quantity of vaccines ordered as on each date; and (c) the projected date of supply; and
3. An outline for how and when the Central Government seeks to vaccinate the remaining population in phases 1, 2 and 3.
4.  The steps being taken by the Central Government to ensure drug availability for mucormycosis.

Further, the court has asked the Centre to ensure that copies of all the relevant documents and file notings reflecting its rationale behind the vaccine policy should also be attached with the affidavit to be filed in two weeks. It has also directed state/UT governments to state on affidavit if they have decided to vaccinate their populations for free in order to enable people to assert their right.

The complete judgement may be read here:

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The post Using digital portal for vaccination will impede universal immunisation: SC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

How has 60 percent of Gujarat’s 18-44 age group received its first dose on May 1, 2021 while other states declared a shortage of stock, questioned experts looking at data as the third phase of India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive began.

Following the commencement of the new phase, most Indian states said they did not have enough stock of vaccines for the aforementioned age-groups. Only six states started the new process on time using ‘token’ stocks. However, data has shown that of the 86,023 people vaccinated on Saturday, 60 percent of the doses were administered in Gujarat.

According to the Union Health Ministry on May 2, as many as 86,023 beneficiaries across 11 states in the 18-44 age group received their first dose. Among them, Gujarat administered the highest number of vaccines to 51,622 people.

“86,023 beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years received their first dose of COVID vaccine across 11 States. These states are Chhattisgarh (987), Delhi (1,472), Gujarat (51,622), Jammu and Kashmir (201), Karnataka (649), Maharashtra (12,525), Odisha (97), Punjab (298), Rajasthan (1853), Tamil Nadu (527) and UP (15,792),” said the government press release.

Former Union Minister and Karnataka Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh is now asking why only 11 states were able to vaccinate people and why Gujarat accounted for over 50 percent of those vaccinations, reported The News Minute.

While media reports said that the BJP-led Gujarat government recently procured 1.5 crore coronavirus doses for the new age group in the third phase, other states were talking about a shortage of vaccines and the latest guidelines for vaccine procurement.

Earlier, the central government announced that state governments were to collect vaccinations for the 18-44 age group directly from vaccine manufacturers in the open market while competing with private companies. Meanwhile, manufacturers are to provide 50 percent of their vaccines to the Centre that will in return allocate the doses to states for the above-45 years age group and essential service workers. As per the directive this allotment depends on each state’s ability to vaccinate more people while lowering vaccine wastage rates.

“Cumulatively, 15,68,16,031 vaccine doses have been administered through 22,93,911 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 AM,” said the Ministry press release. The beneficiaries included 94,28,490 healthcare workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose and 62,65,397 HCWs who have taken the second dose, 1,27,57,529 frontline workers (FLWs) who received the first dose and 69,22,093 FLWs who took the second dose.

It may be noted that as per an updated notice by the Ministry 17.02 crore vaccine doses (17,02,42,410) have been administered to states and union territories as of May 5. Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 16,07,94,796 doses. The central government also said that over 94.47 lakh vaccine doses (94,47,614) are still available with states.

As per a May 5 press release, the percentage of wastage reported is as follows:

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The post Did Gujarat get preference over other states in Covid vaccination for 18-44 year olds? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Political commentator Tehseen Poonawalla has moved the Supreme Court seeking its intervention and direction to the Government of India, to allow vaccinations for all citizens  including those under the age of 45. The plea filed in the Supreme Court on Monday, challenges the Centre’s decision on COVID-19 vaccination only to “prioritized age groups” above 45 years and sought doses for all citizens.

I have moved Hon’ble SC thru AOR @fuzail_ayyubi & @Deepali_Dwivedi under Article 21 & 14 of our Constitution, pleading the Hon’ble SC steps in & orders the Govt of India to ensure #VaccineForAll . The right to life & health is a Fundamental right.1n#SpeakUpForVaccineForAll https://t.co/kKZ4DCt28G

— Tehseen Poonawalla Official (@tehseenp) April 12, 2021

The plea states, “It is surprising why the central government did not allow more people to be vaccinated despite India being the “vaccine manufacturer” of the world”. It comes on a day where India overtook Brazil and recorded the second Covid-19 tally worldwide. The current vaccination drive, which this week is titled “teeka utsav” or vaccination festival, is only open to those over the age of 45. However, Covid-19 cases are on the rise across age groups, at high risk are also younger people who already have comorbidities such as respiratory illnesses, diabetes, etc, which according to the globally recognised Covid-19 protocol makes them “vulnerable to the virus,” however, they still are not allowed to be protected by the vaccine. 

Media reports quoted the plea stating, “This arbitrary bar on the age-groups coupled with the sudden rise in the number of infections due to Covid-19 disease…necessitates immediate steps to be taken to ensure that vaccination is not only available to persons aged above 45 years but to all such persons, even below the age of 45-years, who are employed in work that requires them to go outside every day as well as all persons with any of the co-morbid conditions as vulnerable groups.” 

Poonawalla has called the bar on availability of approved vaccines to persons below the age of 45 years, “arbitrary, unreasonable and ultra vires Article 21, which guarantees a right to life, not being a mere animal existence but including within it the right to dignity and appropriate healthcare as well as Article 14, which envisages a right to equality to all the citizens.” He has sought that the SC directs the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to make effective changes in its policy to ensure vaccination for Covid-19 to all citizens of the country.

After front line workers, and senior citizens, on April 1 the Centre had also allowed all those above 45 years in age to get anyone one of the two vaccines — Serum Institute of India’s (SII) Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. However, the age limit question may also open up a Pandora box of queries if India actually has the bandwidth in place to produce enough Covid-19 vaccines to cover all adults at least.

But @tehseenp where will the extra vaccines come from? Gov is not holding back because they are bloody minded. They screwed up the supply side. https://t.co/r6nm8hh6Mv

— K. C. Singh (@ambkcsingh) April 12, 2021

On Monday the Government’s own data showed that “India’s daily new cases continue to rise. 1,68,912 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours.Ten States including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan have shown a rise in the Covid daily new cases.”

According to the Centre the “cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 10.45 Cr” on Monday.

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The post Bar on Covid-19 vaccine for those under 45 arbitrary, unreasonable: Plea before SC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“Normal activities were supposed to resume but with discipline. People don’t respect Covid appropriate behaviour now,” Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan was quoted by NDTV. The statement unleashed major discussion as state elections are still underway in West Bengal, and Assam, and have just concluded in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry on April 6.

Election rallies by senior politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are the norm and are attended by thousands, and social distancing on the ground is non existent, and wearing masks seems more like an option rather than the norm.

The Centre has announced that Covid-19 vaccination can be administered from April 11, at public, private workplaces that have about “100 eligible beneficiaries.” 

India’s daily rise in new cases crossed the 1,15,736 mark in  the last 24 hours. According to the Press Information Bureau, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala continue to record around 80.70% of the new cases reported in the country.  Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 55,469, followed by Chhattisgarh with 9,921 and Karnataka with 6,150 new cases. The national Active Caseload has reached 8,43,473 now. However, it is heartening to note that the national Recovery Rate is 92.11%, with 59,856 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours, and 630 deaths were also reported in the same time period. According to official data, 84.44% of the new deaths have been reported. These are reported from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat.  

No Vaccine Shortage in the Country: Health Minister

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare has said that the major reason for the surge in cases across the country, was because people have not been following COVID Appropriate Behaviour. He said, “It seems that people have given ‘Tilanjali’ to measures and steps that can protect them from COVID such as mask wearing, avoiding gatherings and maintaining physical distancing, which I have been calling as Social Vaccine and are as important as the Vaccines that we now have.” He added that the  measures to prevent and contain Covid-19 “are not rocket science! We have successfully adopted these measures all of last year and shown the world about our success story.”

The same measures have to be reinforced and implemented with more rigour and commitment by the states and the people, he said and added that the Centre will continually replenish the vaccine stock and that “there is no vaccine shortage in any part of the country.” His statement comes in the wake of the authorities saying the aim was to “always to vaccinate those who need it, not all those who want it.”

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting that vaccination should be open to everyone above the age of 18. The medical association had stated, “At present, we are vaccinating the population above 45 years. In view of the rapid spread of the second wave of the disease, we suggest that our vaccination strategy needs to be geared up with immediate effect on war footing. We request the following suggestions in the Covid-19 vaccination drive. All citizens above 18 years of age should be permitted to receive Covid-19 vaccination.” 

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The post Covid-19: Highest surge so far as 1,15,736 new cases reported across India in a single day appeared first on SabrangIndia.

India is all set to kick off the vaccination drive against Covid-19 on January 16, 2021, the central government notified in a press release on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called it a “red letter day” adding that, “On 16th January, India takes a landmark step forward in fighting Covid-19.” 

On 16th January, India takes a landmark step forward in fighting COVID-19. Starting that day, India’s nation-wide vaccination drive begins. Priority will be given to our brave doctors, healthcare workers, frontline workers including Safai Karamcharis. https://t.co/P5Arw64wVt

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 9, 2021

According to an official statement issued by the government, the Covid-19 vaccination rollout “will provide priority to the healthcare workers and the frontline workers who are estimated to be around 3 crore”. This will be followed by a second batch of around 27 crore people “above 50 years of age” as well as those under-50 years of age who suffer from co-morbidities. 

The government has timed the vaccination drive to start after the forthcoming festivals such as Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Magh Bihu, among others. On Saturday, the PM chaired a high-level meeting to review the Covid-19 status in the country, and the preparedness of the State/UTs for the drive. According to the statement the “Emergency Use Authorisation or Accelerated Approval has been granted by the National Regulator for two vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) which have established safety & immunogenicity.”

The statement added that there will be “no compromise on scientific and regulatory norms, other SOPs,” and that over 61,000 programme managers, 2 lakh vaccinators and 3.7 lakh other vaccination team members have been trained so far. The third dry run was conducted on Friday,  across 615 districts covering 4,895 session sites in 33 States/UTs.

However, there has also been news that a man has died in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh allegedly days after participating in Covid-19 vaccine trial. According to a news report in the Hindustan Times, Deepak Marawi, the 42-year-old volunteer who died had participated in the clinical trial for Covaxin held at a private hospital. Madhya Pradesh Medico Legal Institute Director Dr Ashok Sharma was quoted in the news report saying that a doctor who had performed postmortem examination suspects that the man died of poisoning. “After Marawi’s death on December 21, we informed the Drug Controller General of India and Bharat Biotech, which is the producer and sponsor of the trial,” said Dr Rajesh Kapur, Vice Chancellor, People’s Medical College and Hospital where the trial was conducted.

According to the news report Marawi, is a tribal, and was working as a labourer. His family has  claimed that Marawi and his colleague were administered the Covaxin injection on December 12 during the trial. They told the media that he returned home and “felt uneasy” He also “complained of a shoulder pain on December 17. Two days later, he spewed foam. He refused to see a doctor saying he would be alright in a day or two. When his condition deteriorated, he was being rushed to hospital but he died midway (on December 21),” they added. Bhopal-based social activist, Rachana Dhingra, has alleged that Marawi’s consent was not taken for participation in the clinical trial, and he was not given any proof of his participation in the vaccination exercise. This has been stated by his family as well, who added that he was a healthy man before he got the injection. “The vaccine poisoned him,” said his wife.

Maravi’s family in Bhopal say they believe he died because of the vaccine. They have not received any information from the govt or @bharatbiotech on what happened to Maravi, they say pic.twitter.com/fDlizD32mO

— IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) January 9, 2021

Meanwhile, this is the Covid-19 status in India:

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