As stories of the brutal second wave of Covid-19 began emerging from all over the country last week, these were two of the many questions t...
As stories of the brutal second wave of Covid-19 began emerging from all over the country last week, these were two of the many questions that emerged: Where was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government? And what were the calculations behind his government’s massive vaccination campaign that seemed to be running out of steam rather than picking up pace?
Responses to both questions emerged this week, even if the replies were not entirely satisfactory. On Monday, the government announced a number of changes to India’s Covid-19 vaccination strategy, including making every adult eligible to get a shot starting May 1.
Then, a day later, Modi took a break from campaigning for the West Bengal Assembly elections to deliver a national address announcing the new vaccine rules, and added that “states must tell migrant workers they will be vaccinated in next few days and their job will remain with them”.
The change in eligibility brought relief. Vaccines will now be open to Indians of working age, the vast majority of whom cannot rely on a work from home arrangement.
But it also seemed a bit baffling. Just as the country appeared to be facing shortages and an inability to scale up its vaccination effort, the government was adding another...
