Moneycontrol Pro Panorama | There is no scope for errors in vaccination this time around

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India’s plight finally seems to have woken up the conscience of leaders of the developed world. The country’s worst affected states are getting overwhelmed by the second wave of COVID-19 with oxygen and medicines falling short of demand.

Over the weekend, one saw heartless statements such as vaccines are first required for Americans and a European leader was more concerned about India not living up to its assurances of delivering vaccines.

But Sunday saw the tide turn.

The US said it has identified specific raw material required to make Serum Institute’s Covishield, arranged supplies of medicines, diagnostic kits and medical equipment such as ventilators, and is exploring ways to provide additional oxygen generation capacity. The UK will ship ventilators and oxygen concentrators from its surplus stock. Germany, France and the EU have also promised assistance.

The real turning point can come if these countries are able to do anything to significantly improve the vaccine supply in India, and soon.

Beating back the second wave is possible; Mumbai is already showing signs of having flattened the curve and the city also has enough oxygen to meet demand. Hopefully, other parts of Maharashtra and the country will also report a flattening of the curve soon. Meanwhile, the creation of additional beds, better availability of oxygen and medicines should help citizens see through the crisis.

Even as the pandemic continues to throw life out of gear, the third phase of vaccination kicks off next week. Its success is critical to give protection to citizens before the third wave hits us. Already, the government’s decision to leave out the 18-44 age group from the central programme, and let them be vaccinated by state governments and private parties has created disquiet.

While Serum Institute of India had already disclosed its rates at Rs 400 a dose for state governments and Rs 600 a dose for private hospitals/industry, over the weekend Bharat Biotech announced rates of Rs 600 a dose for state governments and Rs 1200 a dose for private hospitals/industry. Thus, vaccinating a family of four in a state government facility will cost a minimum of Rs 3200 or Rs 4800 for two doses of Covishield or Covaxin. In the private sector, this will increase to Rs 4800 or Rs 9600. This does not consider the additional cost levied by the private hospital.

State governments are already feeling the pressure to absorb the cost of vaccinating people in the 18-44 age group. Many have already made public their intention to do so but a full picture will emerge only after April 28, when the CoWin portal opens up for registration of people in this category, and for taking appointments.

That’s another area where a problem may arise. The government has made appointments compulsory for the 18-44 age group. This means a person needs access to a computer or an internet-enabled phone to take an appointment.

That’s good but then there is this data staring you in the face. Around 85percent of vaccinations of ordinary citizens (excluding healthcare and frontline workers) has been through walk-in registrations, shows the CoWin dashboard. Even people with internet-enabled phones have been walking in directly.

Why would that change now? What do you expect will happen when the young and restless come to a centre and are turned away because vaccinations can happen only with an appointment? The 45+ are a more patient lot and as you can see, even when turned away from one centre because there are no vaccines, they have gone hunting for another.

The need for appointments is understandable -- to match demand with supply -- but does not take into account the ground reality in our country.

What can be done? Do a better job of communicating that you need appointments without which vaccination will not be given. Run spots on television, radio channels and newspapers, educating people on how and where to register. Set up computer kiosks in low income areas where people can register if they don’t have internet access or don’t know how to do it. These can even be set up outside vaccination centres, so that people are not turned away empty-handed and can be given an appointment for the next available date.

Not doing so could raise the risk of tempers flying high and unpleasant scenes or worse taking place at vaccination centres. A year ago, we could be playing it by the ear but now we have to get it right the first time.

In today’s edition, we have the following articles related to the pandemic:

Vax populi — Coordinated planning a must to make inoculation drive a success

Will the second wave leave deeper scars on India's economy?

Much ado about Biden’s vaccine imperialism

How the best mutual fund managers excelled during COVID-19

Investing insights from our research team:

What is the endgame for the second wave? How should investors position themselves? Part-1 and Part-2

HCL Tech: Why is it a long-term buy despite a soft quarter?

Will ICICI Bank stock price mirror the stellar earnings of the lender in FY21?

Decoding ICICI Securities’ depressed valuation: Will the stock re-rate?

What else are we reading today?

Justice Bobde left a mark, but the legacy has some minuses too

Chart of the Day | China will contribute a fifth of global growth this year

ESG rush opens opportunities for betting against the angels

BJP faces a Catch-22 situation in Karnataka

Technical Picks: Zydus Wellness, Titan, Cadila Healthcare and Maruti (These are published every trading day before markets open and can be read on the app)

Ravi Ananthanarayanan

Moneycontrol Pro