India reported a record 115,736 new cases in a single day on Wednesday (April 7), a 12-fold jump from the daily increase more than two months ago, and the second time this week that the number of new cases reached 100,000. India’s cumulative number of confirmed cases now stands at 12.8 million, second only to the United States and Brazil.
The second wave of the outbreak in India began in late February and early March of this year. As the outbreak intensifies, pressure is mounting on the Indian government to expand its vaccination program.
NPR reports that India has received nearly 90 million doses of the vaccine so far. But that’s still less than 6 percent of India’s nearly 1.4 billion people.
India began implementing a new crown vaccination program in late January this year. Due to India’s large population combined with the issue of willingness to vaccinate, India’s current New Crown vaccination rate is still reportedly lower than many countries.
The intensification of the epidemic has put unprecedented pressure on vaccine production in India. Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of the Serum Institute of India, said Tuesday night that the company is feeling “a lot of pressure” and needs the help of the Indian government to increase production. The Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines in terms of doses produced, and its Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is the most used vaccine in India.
Bonavala said an additional $400 million is needed to expand vaccine production to meet demand.
Reuters reported earlier that the Indian government has temporarily halted all high-volume exports of AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India to meet domestic demand due to rising infection rates.
Maharashtra is the worst state in the second wave of the outbreak, with about half of the new infections occurring there. In Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, hospital beds, oxygen and medicines there are running out. Mumbai is still under a curfew.
The wearing of masks is mandatory locally, and a person driving alone must also wear a mask. The government has closed Mumbai’s beaches and imposed gathering restrictions in places where crowds are likely to gather.
However, in most parts of India, restaurants, stores and even movie theaters remained open. Officials have delayed announcing a strict nationwide lockdown. Last spring, India’s economy shrank by nearly 24 percent under the nationwide restrictions, and hunger set in among the poor.
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