BC INDIA AMP VACCINES
Saved by @khatvaanga

Vaccine Politics - Let us trust in Science.

Long Thread.

1. India has been undertaking the world’s largest vaccination drive. In less than three months, we have managed to provide more than 100 million doses across the country, which is more than the population of Germany.

 2. The country has already achieved one of the highest daily vaccinations per day across the globe with 4.3 million vaccinations, which is close to the population of New Zealand.
3. India has also achieved the fastest rate of reaching the 100 million vaccination milestone, ahead of the United States (US) and China. Our daily vaccination rates are also among the highest in the world.
4. This doesn’t mean that there is no scope for improvement. Of course, we need to expand capacity and continue innovating, which has been our approach throughout the pandemic.
5. In the beginning, there are two insinuations — first, that there is a vaccine crunch, and, second, that everyone immediately needs a vaccine. We must understand that vaccines are a scarce commodity in the world.
6. That is why India, as well as other countries, decided to prioritize groups which are vulnerable. The primary purpose of vaccination is mortality reduction and decreasing the burden on the health care system. This was laid down by the government in 2020 itself.
7. The first phase of the vaccination drive prioritizes vulnerable groups such as older citizens, health care workers, and front-line workers.

For instance, older citizens face an acute threat as those aged 45 and above have accounted for almost nine out of 10 Covid-19 deaths.
8. Across the globe, countries have prioritized vulnerable groups in their vaccination programm as the supply and delivery capacity remained limited initially. Similar to India, the first phase of the vaccination drive in many countries had age and occupation-based eligibility.
9. For instance, in the US, the Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention had recommended that vaccines should initially be given to health care workers, front-line essential workers and those aged 75 years and above
10. India has set a target of vaccinating around 300 million vulnerable citizens by August, and we are very much on course to achieve that. There is no supply crunch when it comes to achieving this target.
11. Here, it is also important to understand that vaccines are a preventive tool which works after a lag period of six to 10 weeks. It is not a treatment to be administered to reduce the case-load in the middle of a wave.
12. To focus only on vaccines and not pay attention to ramping up testing, tracing and proper treatment will be counterproductive.
13. It is amusing that some newspapers argued against India’s vaccine maitri programme, and advocates an inward-looking approach for the sake of a populist argument.
14. Is it not a good thing that India has set an example for the world to follow, earned strategic advantage on various dimensions, and is being appreciated globally for its assistance?
15. If the government had refused to supply vaccines to other countries, the same newspaper would have criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being a “vaccine nationalist”.
16. However, this advocacy of a protectionist and “closed” India is again bereft of the facts. A large proportion of the 60 million-plus vaccines sent abroad were either commercially exported or supplied through the COVAX programme
17. A substantial share was part of contractual obligations that the manufacturer had to fulfil. We must remember that manufacturing rights are accompanied with contractual obligations.
18. The next question constructs and demolishes a straw man to make a point. It says that the government-approved Covaxin based on faith. This sentence does not do as much disservice to the regulator and Bharat Biotech as it does to the credibility of the newspapers.
19. Data on the safety and immunogenicity of Covaxin, based on trials held in India, were available when it was approved; only the efficacy figures were pending.
20. The government is as eager, if not more than the newspaper, to ensure that other vaccines also get approved. It is surprising that some of those who opposed the “clinical trial use” approval for Covaxin are now arguing in favour of completely bypassing bridging trials.
21. Imagine what would happen to the confidence of people if a hastily-approved vaccine which works well elsewhere causes some issues in the Indian population.
22. Adding to Politics, @raghav_chadha said -

“the BJP-led Centre claims that Pakistan exports terrorism to India and on the other, India is exporting vaccines to the neighbouring country. India is directly or indirectly exporting more than six crore vaccine doses to Pakistan.”
23. One needs to specify the context in which Pakistan is getting Made in India vaccine.
It is GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) that is providing Pakistan the vaccine dosages from the slot it purchased from Indian company.
24. AAP’s line of argument that India should withhold export of vaccines till 130 crore Indians get vaccination may sound alluring but lacks practicality.
25. Though India is the major global manufacturer of vaccines, international co-operation is must for vaccine development.
26. See the current examples. Serum institute’s Covishield was developed in collaboration with AstraZeneca of UK. Another vaccine in pipeline for large-scale Indian manufacturing, Sputnik V, comes from Russia.
27. The Quad countries have pledged technical and financial support for India to work on vaccine from Johnson and Johnson

Thus, it is impractical for India to isolate itself in the name of vaccine nationalism.
28. India’s Vaccine Maitri has established India as a credible global supply chain in the post-covid world. The significance of this can’t be measured by wearing narrow-sighted political lens.
29. Wishful thinking has no limits, but the track record of Delhi government in managing Covid-19 situation whenever a spike occurred belies their hype.
30. And demand of MH for getting more doses - PM Modi Said :

“It is incorrect to think that we can address the problem by moving the stocks to one particular state. We need to think about the whole country.”
31. “An analysis of production capacities shows that between SII and Bharat Biotech, which makes Covaxin, India’s current capacity is around 75 million doses a month, or roughly 2.5 million a day. Over the last week, 3.1 million doses a day on average have been delivered.
32. India needs to complete the vaccination of a population that is estimated to be at 33 crores that comes under the group of health workers, frontline workers and people above 45 years of age.
33. Telangana :

Below Article from New Indian express, gives us the glimpse into status in Telangana.

Vaccines are not opened till a group of 10 to 12 are assembled.

This does not mean, Vaccines are not available.
34. Other Measures :

Sputnik should be approved very soon as they fulfilled the requirements of the government.

Limitations have been put on export of Remdesivir till situation improves.
35. Conclusion :

Some matters should be beyond petty politics.

At least in the matters of health, let science guide us and not the news papers and politicians.

End.
Content Credit :

1. @vijai63 article in HT.
2. @the_truepicture article.
3. New Indian Express Article.

Disclaimer : Text is reproduced exactly in some places to create more awareness and no intention to use it commercially.

You May Also Like

Jaya_Upadhyaya
Jaya_Upadhyaya
@Jayalko1
SRI BANKEY BIHARI JI, VRINDAVAN (UP)

Very famous Krishna Mandir where Bankey Bihari Ji is worshipped and looked after as a child.
Bankey means “Bent at three places”.
Thakur Ji was worshipped in Nidhivan till 1863. This mandir was constructed in 1864 by Goswamis.
@LostTemple7


Legend says that Swami Haridas used to worship Krishna in Nidhivan.
Once, his curious disciples entered the forest but they were almost blinded by bright, intense light. Upon knowing this, Swamiji himself went there and after his requests, Krishna appeared with his consort.


Krishna, then, left back this black charming murti,which we see now, before disappearing.
A curtain is drawn before the murti after every 15-30 second. It is said that if one stares long enough into the eyes of Shri Banke Bihari, the person would lose his self consciousness.


Bankey Bihari Ji sports a flute only once a year on the eve of Sharad Purnima.
Darshan of His lotus feet can be done only on Akshay Tritiya every year.
There are no loud bells here and
no early morning Darshan can be done so that child Krishna’s sleep is not disturbed.
ALL
Invest Like the Best
Invest Like the Best
@InvestLikeBest
In 1937, a trucker got frustrated waiting for his cargo to be unloaded. He later sold his company for $1.1 billion.

Here’s the story of how Malcom McLean made a billion dollars and which startup could be following in his footsteps. (Inspired by our episode with @laurabehrenswu)


In the early 1950s, the shipping industry was a dying business.

New York’s docks were handling half as much domestic cargo in the early 1950s as they had been in the depressed 1930s.

In thirty years, no one had invested significant money in coastal shipping.

Why?

As McLean found out, loading ships was difficult and slow.

A truck or train would deliver items to the port. Each item was unloaded separately, recorded, and carried to storage.

When a ship was ready, each item was taken from storage, counted again, and hauled on-board.


The cost of this labor was significant. As one expert at the time explained:

“A four-thousand-mile voyage for a shipment might consume 50 percent of its costs in covering just the two ten-mile movements through two ports.”


Yet, despite the industry’s issues, it felt little pressure to change.

Foreigners were barred from operating domestically. Cartels ran international routes. And gov. subsidies eased the pain of labor costs.

Reshaping the industry needed an outsider.

Enter Malcolm McLean.
HISTORY
Advertisement
Billy Bostickson \U0001f3f4\U0001f441&\U0001f441 \U0001f193
Billy Bostickson 🏴👁&👁 ...
@BillyBostickson
Keep dwelling on this:
Further Examination of the Motif near PRRA Reveals Close Structural Similarity to the SEB Superantigen as well as Sequence Similarities to Neurotoxins and a Viral SAg.

The insertion PRRA together with 7 sequentially preceding residues & succeeding R685 (conserved in β-CoVs) form a motif, Y674QTQTNSPRRAR685, homologous to those of neurotoxins from Ophiophagus (cobra) and Bungarus genera, as well as neurotoxin-like regions from three RABV strains

(20) (Fig. 2D). We further noticed that the same segment bears close similarity to the HIV-1 glycoprotein gp120 SAg motif F164 to V174.
https://t.co/EwwJOSa8RK


In (B), the segment S680PPRAR685 including the PRRA insert and highly conserved cleavage site *R685* is shown in van der Waals representation (black labels) and nearby CDR residues of the TCRVβ domain are labeled in blue/white
https://t.co/BsY8BAIzDa


Sequence Identity %
https://t.co/BsY8BAIzDa
Y674 - QTQTNSPRRA - R685
Similar to neurotoxins from Ophiophagus (cobra) & Bungarus genera & neurotoxin-like regions from three RABV strains
T678 - NSPRRA- R685
Superantigenic core, consistently aligned against bacterial or viral SAgs
ALL
UN Watch
UN Watch
@UNWatch
The UN just voted to condemn Israel 9 times, and the rest of the world 0.

View the resolutions and voting results here:

The resolution titled "The occupied Syrian Golan," which condemns Israel for "repressive measures" against Syrian citizens in the Golan Heights, was adopted by a vote of 151 - 2 - 14.

Israel and the U.S. voted 'No' https://t.co/HoO7oz0dwr


The resolution titled "Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people..." was adopted by a vote of 153 - 6 - 9.

Australia, Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the U.S. voted 'No' https://t.co/1Ntpi7Vqab


The resolution titled "Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan" was adopted by a vote of 153 – 5 – 10.

Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the U.S. voted 'No'
https://t.co/REumYgyRuF


The resolution titled "Applicability of the Geneva Convention... to the
Occupied Palestinian Territory..." was adopted by a vote of 154 - 5 - 8.

Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the U.S. voted 'No'
https://t.co/xDAeS9K1kW
SOCIETY
Pulp Librarian
Pulp Librarian
@PulpLibrarian
Many readers have asked me "why do so many pulp covers feature women in ripped red blouses standing in swamps while a man fights off an unusual animal attack?"

The answer is artist Will Hulsey...


Will Hulsey was the undisputed king of the animal attack pulp cover. You name it, he'd paint it attacking you in a pool of stagnant water.


Very little is known about Will Hulsey, but he worked on a number of men's pulp magazines in the 1950s and early 1960s including Man's Life, True Men, Guilty, Trapped and Peril.


Their audience was ex-GIs: during WWII the US Council of Books in Wartime had given away over 122 million books to American servicemen to read; this led to a post-war surge in paperback and magazine sales amongst these newly enthusiastic readers.


As a result the 1950s saw a raft of men's pulp magazines being published to tap into this market - almost 200 different titles!
CULTURE