Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

[Mort Walker]

^^^A lot of FUD going around with the goal of trying to discredit GoI by international elitist press.

Like I said, every dog has its day. For us we should not pay attention to any of this news, but put our heads down and save the lives of our countrymen first, and get the economic recovery on a fast track. Everything else will fall into place.

On the contrary, an irresponsible media and nasty foreign governments denying raw materials for vaccine production should be called out. If they weren't called out by SM and the responsible press, then this behavior would have continued. Right now, shady BIF aligned PIOs in the US are trying to undermine the central government, but I think people are seeing through this scam. Donate to PM Cares and skip these MoFos.

[sudeepj]

Lots of orgs are asking for financial support in the wake of this unprecedented emergency.. I have donated and will continue to donate but want to be sure am not unwittingly feeding the Commie/Urban Naxal ecosystem.. can anyone help screen the following as legit/BIF:

- Help Age India, Delhi
- Sewa International, Houston, USA
- Akshaya Patra Foundation, Bangalore
- Support daily wagers in India during Covid-19, Goonj, Delhi
- Give foundation, Bangalore

Sewa and Akshay Patra are very dharmic organizations, very very far from anything communist. I dont know about Help Age, Goonj and Give.

PM Cares is good, but not a 501c3 and therefore not eligible for any company matched donations. Also, the state can take care of itself and has nearly infinite resources. Dharmic civil society needs help to stand up and be counted. Therefore I make it a point to donate to dharmic ngos.

[sum]

All this gyan about foreign governments against us, world conspiracy, Kejri knowingly doing it etc is fine for BRF but even a casual interaction with the actual system if a close one is critical will make any sane person lose faith in humanity

The sheer vulture like plucking money from stressed relatives ( by everyone from ambulance driver to the watchman at a hospital),lack of even 1% human empathy and the third world type situation where relatives have to run pillar to post and use all connections to even get a bed and to even be supplied basic stuff like medicines/oxygen even if a bed is secured.
One of my friend colleague had to get the country MD of his IT firm to pull strings and get a bed in Bluru and yet passed away due to all the delays though just 38-40 years old

Very, very sad situation on the actual ground ( not the BRF chatroom) and i know of atleast 4-5 of my friends who lost parents where most would have survived if given basic level0 amenities like reliable oxygen, sterile place to recover instead of being thrown in a corner in a dingy hospital etc.

The anger is real and honestly isn't too unjustified since i would assume any person being subject to such stress and heartless and greedy behavior around them would turn into cynics too. Its just that if we are able to manage everything within home and not really get into the "emergency" situation that the chances seem brightest

Hope this situation turns around soon and we come out stronger

[Rudradev]

Lots of orgs are asking for financial support in the wake of this unprecedented emergency.. I have donated and will continue to donate but want to be sure am not unwittingly feeding the Commie/Urban Naxal ecosystem.. can anyone help screen the following as legit/BIF:

- Help Age India, Delhi
- Sewa International, Houston, USA
- Akshaya Patra Foundation, Bangalore
- Support daily wagers in India during Covid-19, Goonj, Delhi
- Give foundation, Bangalore

Sewa International and Akshaya Patra are 100% dharmic & legit.

I have not heard of the others.

[disha]

Perhaps it would have been better if the central government acquired vaccines and distributed it free to the states.

I think that was the plan earlier. However the opposition and the mediapimps started two campaigns. First they spread vaccine hesitancy. Here is the ignoble list of the pisachas who danced on the death of the innocents: https://swarajyamag.com/politics/the-ig ... y-in-india

We do not support the use of #COVAXIN in the vaccination process in Chhattisgarh for one simple reason - It is NOT SAFE to use any vaccine unless it has completed the recommended testing process with absolute authentication and success. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/Y2yN3sS953

— TS Singh Deo (@TS_SinghDeo) January 10, 2021

And as the COVAXIN and COVIDSHIELD proved its mettle, the same opposition and mediapimps turned around and started clamouring for vaccines >18 years.

Ideally, the vaccine rollout should have been:

0. Identify HLWs, FLWs, Police forces and armed forces and vaccinate them
1. Identify hotspots around the country and target >60 years and >45 years with severe comorbidities.
2. Identify hotspots around the country and target >45 years with single dose

However the above would be politically unpalatable. Since the hotspots would generally be urban centers and the opposition and mediapimps will roll in "suit boot sarkar" campaign.

So the next best thing was tried of phased rollout. That is HLWs, FLWs, police/armed forces and the >65 years. Followed by >45 years.

Given the above, the opposition and mediapimps started the campaign for >18 years. Knowing fully well that there is no capacity to vaccinate >18 years across the country. On top of it opposition and mediapimps started the campaign that GOI withheld money from BB/SII to expand capacity AND also enriching few private players with crores of rupees.

Hence the next best thing to do was Center declaring that we will take care of >45 years and the remaining can be done by the states. Let them compete and try to vaccinate their own >18 years at their own cost! Now all the opposition parties are crying hoarse and asking for handouts.

This actually frees up Central Govt. to come back and target hotspots and vaccinate >45 years. That is why they asked for registrations on CoWin. They are not going to give appointments to all. Only to one's who are in hotspots.

The peak active cases pan-India is going to come sometime from May 20-25. The peak new cases is expected to come sometime May 5-7.

Hence the best strategy now will be very simple

1. Identify hotspots
2. Vaccinate >45

If opposition + mediapimps scream what about >18 years. They can go and buy it from state quota.
If opposition + mediapimps scream what about poor people. They can go and buy it from state quota and distribute it for free.

Behind the scenes, GOI is following above and I think this will crash the 2nd wave post May 25. I do expect the 2nd wave to be a steep drop.

Hence this new clamour by the KKK in Delhi about Central government not supplying Oxygen.

Delhi Government actually told the High Court that:

1. Requirement for Delhi alone is 480 Tonnes of liquid oxygen daily. Central government is supplying only 1/3rd of it.
2. Delhi Government wants to know the national capacity of liquid oxygen production. (Why?)
3. Delhi Government wants to know why liquid oxygen is diverted to Gujarat, MP and other states. (Why?)
4. Delhi Government wants to know why trains cannot be plied to Delhi with liquid oxygen (Wow!)

And there have been discussions on why not fill LPG cylinders with liquid oxygen!

People do not realize that Liquid Oxygen makes everything super flammable. For example hot charcoal or hot iron filings burst explosively in liquid oxygen.

Here is the death of several patients in Maharashtra caught in fire at hospital. This the media and opposition will not discuss.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india ... e-7286708/

Oxygen leaking from the concentrators/cryo-bottles and a small spark from electric switchboard and things will just explode.

Hence KKK asking for cryogenic oxygen in tonnes to be shipped to Delhi is literally playing with fire.

Point is, the current mess is created by opposition, their mediapimps and panic stricken innocents caught in the opposition lies.

[disha]

The anger is real and honestly isn't too unjustified since i would assume any person being subject to such stress and heartless and greedy behavior around them would turn into cynics too. Its just that if we are able to manage everything within home and not really get into the "emergency" situation that the chances seem brightest

The anger is justifiable. It should be directed against the people who created the vaccine hesitancy first, the mediapimps who are actively spreading Fear-Uncertainity-Disaster and the state governments who purposely and purposefully playing politics with peoples lives.

Delhi government setup 100 bed hospital in Hotel Asoka (5* Star) for the HC justices! https://www.reuters.com/world/india/del ... 021-04-27/

[disha]

Very, very sad situation on the actual ground ( not the BRF chatroom) and i know of atleast 4-5 of my friends who lost parents where most would have survived if given basic level0 amenities like reliable oxygen, sterile place to recover instead of being thrown in a corner in a dingy hospital etc.

Sum saar, I feel for your friends. But the health care industry everywhere in the world is predatory.

One silver lining from this pandemic is that it has been a great equalizer. The dingy hospital you mention and where your friends' parents were thrown in., That's the reality for 80 percent of Indians. Not the clean areas of Apollo or Medanta or <insert your favourite pvt. hospital> but the overcrowded, unclean, dingy corridors.

Some of the PHCs in remote villages without any overcrowding are better. But they do not have the right staff or equipment!

Just recognize the fact that the freebies that the politicos announce, the infrastructure the justices stop has an impact on the education and health care infrastructure of India.

And here is what the smear campaign by Pappu, KKK and company https://swarajyamag.com/politics/a-smea ... s-are-upto

In what can be only defined as absurd, the Supreme Court allowed the Tamil Nadu government to take over the Sterlite Copper plant in order to initiate the production of medical oxygen. It only took a strong objection from Vedanta in the apex court where they cited their expertise and the importance of having expert professionals on the plant.

Make no mistake, the entire CONgoon ecosystem is striking back. And what is that ecosystem? It is best exemplified by the Vasooli Rajas in Maharashtra and KKK in Delhi and MaoMata in W. Bengal. All the lutyens were in on the gravy train and their gravy train is threatened.

[pgbhat]

We cannot take umbrage in vaccine hesitancy as a hurdle for much long. Let’s be real government would still not have kept up with demand. I am guessing folks in GoI probably hedged that Corona would go away and they would be left with bunch of useless vaccines and of course dealing with supply chain and logistics aspects probably became too much to handle. Probably not sound thinking in hindsight.

Anyways all this just delayed the inevitable rush to the hospital to get jabs. Now it is perfectly in-sync with second wave.

[vera_k]

As far as vaccines go, governments could only perhaps release funds in advance for vaccine purchase orders. SII was quoted in September saying that it will be 2024 before most people are vaccinated because of the lack of production capacity worldwide.

Far as health infrastructure goes, that has been chronically underinvested in for as long as I can remember. Its unclear what could be done in short order to overcome that. Perhaps the Central government could have imposed a national Emergency assuming Central rule to at least reduce the lines of communication and get things moving faster. However this again has limitations given that Covid is expected to be a years long battle.

[Zynda]

All this gyan about foreign governments against us, world conspiracy, Kejri knowingly doing it etc is fine for BRF but even a casual interaction with the actual system if a close one is critical will make any sane person lose faith in humanity

The sheer vulture like plucking money from stressed relatives ( by everyone from ambulance driver to the watchman at a hospital),lack of even 1% human empathy and the third world type situation where relatives have to run pillar to post and use all connections to even get a bed and to even be supplied basic stuff like medicines/oxygen even if a bed is secured.
One of my friend colleague had to get the country MD of his IT firm to pull strings and get a bed in Bluru and yet passed away due to all the delays though just 38-40 years old

Very, very sad situation on the actual ground ( not the BRF chatroom) and i know of atleast 4-5 of my friends who lost parents where most would have survived if given basic level0 amenities like reliable oxygen, sterile place to recover instead of being thrown in a corner in a dingy hospital etc.

The anger is real and honestly isn't too unjustified since i would assume any person being subject to such stress and heartless and greedy behavior around them would turn into cynics too. Its just that if we are able to manage everything within home and not really get into the "emergency" situation that the chances seem brightest

Hope this situation turns around soon and we come out stronger

^^+10...the situation on ground is quite horrible & scary. I mean using all kinds of contacts/connections just to get a bed, meds & O2...the healthcare staff are over worked...right from the person who collects the sample.

One of my friends is trying to help out a semi-disabled neighbour to have someone come and collect home sample in BLR but he has called over a dozen labs (who are still advertising home sample collection on their web sites) but the reply he gets is "technicians are booked...next date is middle of next week"...finally they found a person who was willing to come home and collect the sample for 3500...more than double of what is being charged at private labs (although KarGov has capped the price to 800...most private labs are charging 1400 with impunity) and after this, at least 72-96 hours before results are out.

I understand triaging was done in other countries as well but at least I did not see desperate pleas on twitter for beds, O2 and/or meds by concerned relatives.Regarding current situation in India, I am sure there are lots of blame to pass around with all concerned parties (including public) but when none of those matters when some one is in an emergency & state of helplessness.

Also at least this week there was no stocks of Covishield in BLR for people who wanted to take 2nd dose. Many vaccination centers (mostly private) are saying that BBMP has not supplied stocks and they are hopeful of stocks coming in next week. Hearing that BBMP/Govt. run vaccination centers have stocks of Covishield but rush is insane...people have to wait some times for 2+ hours before their turn comes up (token system is implemented)...plus Karnataka Government has said that they won't be able to start vaccination for 18-44 before May 15th. So yes, as it stands now vaccination strategy isn't going all that smooth...IMO, month of April was not utilized properly with just 45+...perhaps they could have expanded it to 35+ and have a few more tens of millions get their first dose (this is assuming sufficient stocks were available for such move)...

[Raja]

I am sorry but there is nothing equalizer about Covid. When it's all said and done, the poor and lower middle class will have paid the biggest price as usual. This is true in every country..

[Raja]

.

This led to recriminations and politically motivated finger-pointing, which led to states demanding to buy from supplier directly. Center shrugged and agreed, whereupon states suddenly realized they're only trading one problem with arguably another worse one.

Suraj, we have all voted for BJP in mass because we expect them to take correct and strong decisions. We have a very strong center which has stuck to it's guns in the past. If they have decided to cave in to the usual BS from the opposition at this very crucial time, then I don't think it was a wise decision. I hope that was not the primary motivation. For BJP and India's sake.

[Suraj]

I don't see it as anything to do with party. As mentioned in a previous post, I think this has pros and cons, and the spirit of federalism dictates that if states demand something in the middle of a crisis the center should make an effort to acknowledge this. It's got nothing to do with 'I voted for XYZ and they're caving in'. Reality is a lot more shade of grey than such statements. There's no one way to do this right.

In reality, the open enrollment will find its own equilibrium. For one, the states need to learn how to manage order deliveries from supplier. The center smartly ensured Cowin can register people but doesn't automatically give them ability to make appointments. This amounts to implementing a form of lottery, where people are given the opportunity in a manner that the states and center can modulate in tune with vaccine availability .

Some states will do this very well, some not so well and will learn from the better ones, and others will do badly and not learn. However, by having the states pay for it themselves, it imposes fiduciary duty on them - if they choose to eat their own food, it is on them. Meanwhile center will keep disbursing its share for free until it changes its own mind on that, which I think will be never.

[partha]

The anger is real and honestly isn't too unjustified since i would assume any person being subject to such stress and heartless and greedy behavior around them would turn into cynics too. Its just that if we are able to manage everything within home and not really get into the "emergency" situation that the chances seem brightest

The anger is justifiable. It should be directed against the people who created the vaccine hesitancy first, the mediapimps who are actively spreading Fear-Uncertainity-Disaster and the state governments who purposely and purposefully playing politics with peoples lives.

Delhi government setup 100 bed hospital in Hotel Asoka (5* Star) for the HC justices! https://www.reuters.com/world/india/del ... 021-04-27/

Anti vaccine campaign shouldn't have stopped the Govt from fast tracking vaccine orders and stockpiling them and Govt should have anticipated the negative media campaign considering it's going on for last 7 years and every Modi hater was waiting for exactly what's going on currently. They all wanted bodies to pile up and health case system to break down and Govt by being careless gave it to them on a platter.

[Raja]

I see what you mean and I agree that it could work. But it's risky.

[vera_k]

Anti vaccine campaign shouldn't have stopped the Govt from fast tracking vaccine orders and stockpiling them

I used to think this way, but realized that this would not have made much of a difference. Since there was no additional capacity available, about the only additional vaccines that might have been available are those that were exported. Those additional vaccines even if administered within India were insufficient to prevent this 2nd wave.

[partha]

Anti vaccine campaign shouldn't have stopped the Govt from fast tracking vaccine orders and stockpiling them

I used to think this way, but realized that this would not have made much of a difference. Since there was no additional capacity available, about the only additional vaccines that might have been available are those that were exported. Those additional vaccines even if administered within India were insufficient to prevent this 2nd wave.

There was no additional capacity because Govt rejected SII funding request for capacity expansion last year. It was only approved recently but 2nd wave had already started by then.

>> Those additional vaccines even if administered within India were insufficient to prevent this 2nd wave.

Sure but 2nd wave would have been less severe and nobody would have blamed Govt for not trying.

[Suraj]

There was no additional capacity because Govt rejected SII funding request for capacity expansion last year. It was only approved recently but 2nd wave had already started by then.

Please post an article reference.

[vera_k]

There was no additional capacity because Govt rejected SII funding request for capacity expansion last year. It was only approved recently but 2nd wave had already started by then.

I haven't found any references to indicate that there was a funding request made last year. Was there one? There have been a lot of articles about commitments made by SII for customers, but those have been fairly modest in retrospect. Note the figures in this article from January -

SII to seek WHO's approval for supplying 200 million doses of Covid vaccines to GAVI-COVAX alliance

[pgbhat]

Anti vaccine campaign shouldn't have stopped the Govt from fast tracking vaccine orders and stockpiling them

I used to think this way, but realized that this would not have made much of a difference. Since there was no additional capacity available, about the only additional vaccines that might have been available are those that were exported. Those additional vaccines even if administered within India were insufficient to prevent this 2nd wave.

Correct those who are complaining about vaccine hesitancy or even vaccine exports are not looking at the clear problem at hand. There is not enough vaccines to cover even 45+ folks in the country fully even with both these problems were addressed apriori before second wave began.

Govt dropped the ball with messaging by letting large scale gatherings happen across various parts of the country.... stopping these would have been part of larger messaging by government to have led by example and it is not just about TV ads to social distance, mask up and sanitize hands. Opposition will cry hoarse anyways for every decision government takes where it is Kashmir, demonitization, surgical strike, lockdown.... that has not changed and will not change in the future.

[partha]

I swear I remember reading about it but I cannot find a reference so I apologize and take back what I said about Govt denying earlier funding request of SII but I will say this - who owns the vaccination program ultimately? It's the Govt, not SII. It's Govt's job to work with vaccine producers to come up with a plan. What stopped Govt from working with SII and BB last year itself to expand capacity?

[nam]

Our vaccine production rate is similar to what US produces.And it has just been 4 months. If we had started when US had, we would vaccinate the same number of people, if not more.

[partha]

Opposition will cry hoarse anyways for every decision government takes where it is Kashmir, demonitization, surgical strike, lockdown.... that has not changed and will not change in the future.

Yes but this time is different. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who has lost a family member. For some, it's even closer to home. The loss and suffering is much more tangible than in any of the cases you have mentioned. It will be a major blunder if Govt just dismisses the issues as opposition crying hoarse.

[Suraj]

I swear I remember reading about it but I cannot find a reference so I apologize and take back what I said about Govt denying earlier funding request of SII but I will say this - who owns the vaccination program ultimately? It's the Govt, not SII. It's Govt's job to work with vaccine producers to come up with a plan. What stopped Govt from working with SII and BB last year itself to expand capacity?

Please read through this thread. It's extensively researched on my part. One reason I asked for article reference is that everything in that thread has an article reference - in the case of data, multiple sources for reliability:
https://twitter.com/surajbrf/status/1387289741259808770

The goal of that was to unemotionally document the topic with records. It's not really intended for hindsight arguments, but I want to add more reference material of anything useful that I missed. It offers a lot of information on what was actually done.

India produced 270 million vaccines through end of March. The combined US output goal was 240 million doses and they fell short due to issues with all three producers - Pfizer, Moderna and J&J . Vaccine development at this scale and speed has never been done before, and essentially everyone has had trouble. Sputnik V for example has had 30m doses in total produced so far in Russia - about half a month's SII production over the past few months.

[chetak]

Lots of orgs are asking for financial support in the wake of this unprecedented emergency.. I have donated and will continue to donate but want to be sure am not unwittingly feeding the Commie/Urban Naxal ecosystem.. can anyone help screen the following as legit/BIF:

- Help Age India, Delhi
- Sewa International, Houston, USA
- Akshaya Patra Foundation, Bangalore
- Support daily wagers in India during Covid-19, Goonj, Delhi
- Give foundation, Bangalore

I
I am sticking to PM Cares only.

PM Cares: safe and best.

besides, I trust the guy.

[nam]

For all the blame we put on local & central gov, how many in India have the civic sense to take a pandemic seriously? The worst are the educated ones. Until it effects our personal life, the people in the country don't a damn.

There was a video of a high middle class chap telling a doctor to stuff it in lovely English, for asking him to wear a mask. Despite constant reminders, I could not prevent my own parents from attending a wedding!

Our people are irresponsible with their life. When things go belly up, they will blame the neighbor, the milkman,his dog, the mayor, the state gov, the central gov, Modi, his father-in-law, CIA, martian.. everyone except themselves.

One can understand the poor, uneducated ones. The worst are the educated middle class and upper class. Why would the poor follow the rules, when the educated ones show disdain.

[Raja]

So what's your solution? Indians are only like this and throw hands in the air. And to be clear, I disagree with your assessment. I think it's the tired old spiel that people always say to leave things to karma and not take any action.

People can be convinced with awareness campaigns. Not by allowing cricket matches full of stadium.

[Suraj]

Part of the solution is to understand that arguing something needed to be done differently in the past is pointless, unless a time machine is available. The past only guides us in actions that can be made in future. Therefore 'should have done X thing Y months ago' is pointless. However 'Some X thing we did recently didn't work. It's worth understanding how to do that differently for better results. Here's some detailed information on it'.

Right now however, many people are stressed and venting.

[pgbhat]

For all the blame we put on local & central gov, how many in India have the civic sense to take a pandemic seriously? The worst are the educated ones. Until it effects our personal life, the people in the country don't a damn.

There was a video of a high middle class chap telling a doctor to stuff it in lovely English, for asking him to wear a mask. Despite constant reminders, I could not prevent my own parents from attending a wedding!

Our people are irresponsible with their life. When things go belly up, they will blame the neighbor, the milkman,his dog, the mayor, the state gov, the central gov, Modi, his father-in-law, CIA, martian.. everyone except themselves.

One can understand the poor, uneducated ones. The worst are the educated middle class and upper class. Why would the poor follow the rules, when the educated ones show disdain.

Oh I hear you. I have had numerous fights with my own parents on this where they wanted to attend weddings and pooja gatherings. It is one thing to have Daily wage laborers who need work allowed to ply their trade...but to organize and invite people for religious rituals and attend them in large numbers is absolutely criminal.

[pgbhat]

So what's your solution? Indians are only like this and throw hands in the air. And to be clear, I disagree with your assessment. I think it's the tired old spiel that people always say to leave things to karma and not take any action.

People can be convinced with awareness campaigns. Not by allowing cricket matches full of stadium.

Messaging is not consistent saar. In fact the on TV awareness campaign has to be lauded. But when TV news is showing large number of people gathered in Stadium, then in political and religious gathering all those things go waste and rest of the folks assuming it is okay to be like that. Just like Monkey See Monkey Do... People See People Do.... after all we their ancestors.

Govt has to be focused on vaccine delivery and social distancing from now on till significant number of folks are vaccinated. No more public gatherings of any kind.

[Tanaji]

Mumbai has suspended all vaccinations for 3 days citing lack of vaccines

[ritesh]

Part of the solution is to understand that arguing something needed to be done differently in the past is pointless, unless a time machine is available. The past only guides us in actions that can be made in future. Therefore 'should have done X thing Y months ago' is pointless. However 'Some X thing we did recently didn't work. It's worth understanding how to do that differently for better results. Here's some detailed information on it'.

Right now however, many people are stressed and venting.

Satyavachan...
Instead of looking things half empty, lets see as half full and work overtime to correct the anamoly.

[nam]

People can be convinced with awareness campaigns. Not by allowing cricket matches full of stadium.

If one is aware of the consequence of a virus towards themselves and their family, no amount of IPL matches, elections or khumb mela is going force one to put themselves and their family in places of risk.

Sure gov can stop IPL and other nonsense. But there are more people in a wedding hall per day than all IPL match crowd put together. No gov has forced them to go to a wedding.

A SIL of a friend went to meet her parents in Kerala. Went around happily visiting temples, praying for everyone. Got infected. Luckily for her, she got isolated before she infected her diabetic father! Nearly killed her dad, in the process of praying for everyone's good health!

Blaming gov is the easiest way out.

[jamwal]

Is it possible to have corona virus in your body and not show any symptoms? How does it work and what precautions can be taken to avoid infecting anyone else?

[Zynda]

Yes...one can be an asymptomatic carrier and yet be infectious. Currently, many doctors are advising using a face mask (cloth or surgical) even inside the house. Wearing a mask cuts down the chances of infecting others but does not prevent it 100%.

Secondly, if you can, isolate yourself from your family (assuming then you would not need a face mask inside the house when alone) and wear a mask when you have to interact with them and/or going to common areas inside the house. I am sure doctors here can provide better & accurate info.

[nvishal]

Vaccination mission will be slow as long as the current way is observed.

We should have invented a gun type vaccine delivery system by now. Similar tools were used in pandemics in the 60-70s. They didn't change the needle back then. We need an automated handheld system that ejects the old needle, sprays rubbing alcohol on the needle hole spot and inserts a new needle. Maybe 30sec for the whole process. I think an arduino can be coded to do that. A 1 litre glass bottle with appropriate cooling, powered by batteries can sit on top of the gun. This can lower production costs. The vaccine company has to ship out 1 litre bottles instead of the lakhs of little vials as being done now.

A lakh or two can be vaccinated by each team(~5 system) at a bazaar in a matter of 2-3 hours. The vaccinated need to told to sit in a gathering spot for half an halr for observation. I think cameras can be positioned to watch them.

Just some thoughts.

[Manish_P]

Is it possible to have corona virus in your body and not show any symptoms? How does it work and what precautions can be taken to avoid infecting anyone else?

I had loss of taste for half a day (evening to night) and loss of smell for half a day (the next morning to afternoon), that's all. No fever, no cough, no cold, no diarrhea, no fatigue, no aches, nothing.

Currently on the 10th day. Another 7 days to go. Lucky i stay alone, so isolation is no problem at all.

Only waste disposal is an issue since the BMC (being overloaded probably) are not sending a separate team to collect the waste. 4 more apartments in my building have patients. The local waste collector contractor collects our waste bags separately. Don't know what he does with them later (when dumping it at the colony main garbage bins)

[Deans]

Vaccination mission will be slow as long as the current way is observed.

We should have invented a gun type vaccine delivery system by now. Similar tools were used in pandemics in the 60-70s. They didn't change the needle back then. We need an automated handheld system that ejects the old needle, sprays rubbing alcohol on the needle hole spot and inserts a new needle. Maybe 30sec for the whole process. I think an arduino can be coded to do that. A 1 litre glass bottle with appropriate cooling, powered by batteries can sit on top of the gun. This can lower production costs. The vaccine company has to ship out 1 litre bottles instead of the lakhs of little vials as being done now.

A lakh or two can be vaccinated by each team(~5 system) at a bazaar in a matter of 2-3 hours. The vaccinated need to told to sit in a gathering spot for half an halr for observation. I think cameras can be positioned to watch them.

Just some thoughts.

The constraint is the number of vaccines we can produce, not the time taken to deliver one. Hospitals finish their entire quota of vaccine
supplied for the day, in an hour.
Our rate of vaccination last week is lower than what it was in mid March, although the no of those eligible has shot up. That's because we have
serious shortages of vaccines.

[nvishal]

Deans, maybe the delay in vaccine production is because they have to vial it?

[Tanaji]

The earlier high rate of vaccination was due to the fact that SII had stockpiled vaccines and we were probably running through that stockpile. Hence vaccines are available plentifully at vaccination centres. That has been exhausted. A back of the envelope calculation: SII produces 70m a month or thereabouts. This is about 2M a day on average. If we are going at 3M a day clearly it’s not enough. Ignoring BB and Gavi commitments for now as it is small.

Scaling up the rate of production is happening but it is not easy due to all factors such as quality control processes, having adjuvants available etc etc. By June we should have at least 100M a month over BB, Sputnik and SII. Later in the year ZyCovid should come on line