OpinionsThe nation needs to come up with a transparent vaccine policy

The nation needs to come up with a transparent vaccine policy

Date:

Kumardeep Banerjee

We, as one nation, one people, need to come together. If all of us don't care for each other in this hour of crisis, who will?

It was day on May 11 (the day is celebrated to mark 1998 Pokharan nuclear tests) and the irony is Indian science has managed to break an atom and unleash its power but an atomic size virus seems insurmountable. The statement could well be turned aroundto, in this battle of humans' vs virus, policy makers ignored science.

A month into one the darkest periods of modern Indian history things look tattered and dishevelled with citizens in queues even for performing last rites of their loving. Early celebrations, political compulsions of a democratic society, vibrant regional sensitivities,one can attribute a ton of reasons to the current level of pandemic devastation, yet what is lacking is sound backing and knowledge of a science-led bunch of experts leading the fight against pandemic. It may not be an exaggeration if one assumes 's second wave Covid battle is being fought in courts, national and local administrative offices. Each one in their desperation or compulsion to make the right announcement is giving a siloed decision, often overreaching each other's territory, therefore creating an unwarranted bottleneck at a critical time. Examples have been quoted of differences between Delhi and Mumbai and will continue to be a case study for any future pandemic management, but what it showed was any governance has to start right at the colony cluster level. The biggest bunch of caregivers/administrators/counsellors are right in the neighborhood and therefore healthcare and civic infrastructure has to be upgraded at the mohalla level. Tossing a few social media posts with glossy pictures of infrastructure fail to impress when a person urgently needs to breathe. Running to courts to intervene is allowing the judiciary to walk into executive's core responsibilities while presenting a united face to any calamity/war or crisis is one of the basic rules of public administration. One does not start to gain brownie points before the unconnected and potentially dangerous parties during a crisis situation. It is shocking to see central,state, local administrations if not judiciary, creating opposing guidelines for Covid management or trying to control surge with delays.

Second, it is important for those at the top to understand that the pandemic is a blunt reminder of the gross neglect of rationale domain experts in policy making and governance. India still is governed by bureaucrats, who by training are generalists with no special domain knowledge for handling new challenges and therefore solutions. Political leaders of any hue would always cater to their constituencies and come up with the most populist schemes, which may or may not impact lives and livelihoods in the long term. An example, free food distribution, while at a humanitarian level it is a noble move yet ensuring a continuous supply of government subsidized ration is the only long-term solution. If the ‘one nation one ration card' had been operationalised in major parts of India, along with various schemes for migrants and those out of the social net, tons of public sector human resources such as police could have been better utilized for enforcing other Covid appropriate protocols.If a few scientists, epidemiologists, doctors had been permanently co opted in a steering committee for Covid management in national and State governments (if not local) the permanent tag of India facing worst Covid wave in the world could have been avoided.

Finally, the truth no matter however harsh or shaming if told honestly and with compassion, always benefits the orator. The government has been avoiding queries on vaccination supply and distribution. All domain experts have been suggesting vaccination being the only long-term solution for protecting a large chunk of population and avoiding mass graves. The government had nearly eight months to be prepared for the current onslaught and has been blessed with one of the largest vaccine manufacturing sites in the world, along with a home grown vaccine. It therefore cuts a very sorry figure when despite all the wealth and a team to push India to the next lever of growth, only about 10 per cent of the population has been vaccinated while a sizeable chunk of India, even inmost impacted districts of Delhi and Mumbai,are battling it for ajab in the arm. The current vaccine distribution policy of the government is opaque and needs clarity along with an almost daily update on the pipeline for next few months. Estimates suggest nearly one per cent of the India population would be willing to pay for vaccines. Government must prioritise COVID3 management by securing nearly 1.5 billion vaccines for India in the next few months.

(The writer is a policy analyst. The views expressed are personal.)

Northlines
Northlines
The Northlines is an independent source on the Web for news, facts and figures relating to Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and its neighbourhood.

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