No Gain without Pain

-- Parimita Barooah Bora

Sunday, January 23, 2022

The world had come to a standstill in January 2020 when nations after nations came under the attack of a deadly virus disease called Covid-19, whose impact has been unprecedented. Its first case was reported on November 17, 2019. Slowly this coronavirus had engulfed the entire world. The carefree life that we had led till now had suddenly come under attack. Millions of lives were lost, millions lost their livelihood and the entire population of the world was shut indoors. The world found a new way out of this menace as people started working or studying from home. Simply put, life came to an abrupt halt as never experienced before.

These alien and uncontrollable factors made India stand united, resolutely fighting the pandemic and trying to provide vaccine to the population of the entire world. Health workers unselfishly serving the people, risking their lives and traversing difficult terrains for vaccinating people proved their unstinted dedication and love for humanity. Strongly and persistently, India is not only fighting its own battle against this virus but also fighting it for the world. Oxford University's research backed vaccine produced by Pune-based Serum Institute which is branded as Covishield (equivalent to the internationally popular AstraZeneca vaccine) and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin are India’s gift to humanity. Millions of doses of these vaccines have been provided to various countries across the world for vaccinating their citizens. When the whole world was reeling under Corona virus threat, development of these two vaccines and their quick administration helped avert more disaster and saved millions of lives. This is a great reflection of an emerging “self-reliant” India.

It is a matter of great pride to every Indian that the two vaccines that have been elaborately used by countries all over the world are made in India. It is a big thumb up for Indian medical community in this fight against the virus and race against time. India became “The Pharmacy of the World “with the Indian firms producing about half of the world’s vaccine supply, mostly for developing nations, according to the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. Recently on 7 January, 2022, India achieved the milestone of administering 1.5 billion (150 crore) Covid-19 vaccines. "A remarkable day on the vaccination front! Congratulations to our fellow citizens on crossing the 150 crore milestone. Our vaccination drive ensured that many lives are saved. At the same time, let us also keep following all Covid-19 related protocols,” Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter.



While India achieved administration of 1 billion( 100 crore) doses on 21 Oct 2021, Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO, South-East Asia had said, “This extraordinary feat in a short span was not possible without strong political leadership, inter-sectoral convergence, dedicated efforts of the entire health and frontline workforce, and the people themselves. India’s progress must be viewed in the context of the country’s commendable commitment and efforts to ensure that these life-saving vaccines are accessible globally”. Nearly 90% of the vaccines administered in India have come from the Serum Institute of India (SII). SII has more than tripled its capacity since April 2021 and can now produce 220 million vaccine doses a month.

Currently the world is fighting another new variant of this deadly virus called Omicron. It is spreading at a rate that has never been experienced before. However, we are sure that we will be able to tide over its deadly impact applying the learning from our previous experiences, commitment and hard work of health workers, scientists, manufacturers, policy makers and health managers. Our country is now well prepared to face this wave of the pandemic and together we will be able to see the light of the day as we overcome it.

As we look back we note that this journey has been very painful and challenging. At the same time these experiences have given us many a lesson as we bolstered our health infrastructure and policies to face the new challenges ahead.