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 India reported 386,452 news cases in the past 24 hours, while deaths
from COVID-19 jumped by 3,498 over the last 24 hours, according to
health ministry data.
However, medical experts believe actual COVID-19 numbers may be five
to 10 times greater than the official tally.
India has added about 7.7 million cases since the end of February,
when its second wave picked up steam, according to a Reuters tally.
In contrast, it took India nearly six months to add the previous 7.7
million cases.
The world's second-most populous nation is in deep crisis, with
hospitals and morgues overwhelmed by the pandemic, medicines and
oxygen in short supply and strict curbs on movement in its biggest
cities.
India is the world's biggest producer of vaccines but does not have
enough stockpiles to keep up with the second deadly COVID-19 wave,
despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government planning to
vaccinate all adults starting May 1.
Only about 9% of India's 1.4 billion people have received a vaccine
dose since January.
"I registered to get a slot 28 days before, but now they are saying
there are no vaccines," Twitter user Jasmin Oza said in a video
post.
India had originally planned to vaccinate only 300 million of its
highest-risk people by August, but widened the target due to the
rise in cases.
However, its two vaccine producers were already struggling to
increase capacity beyond 80 million doses a month due to a shortage
of raw materials and a fire at the Serum Institute, which
manufactures AstraZeneca's vaccine in India.
Inoculation centres in Mumbai will be shut for three days starting
Friday because of the shortage of vaccines, authorities said.
In the southern state of Karnataka, home to the tech hub of
Bengaluru, the state's health minister said Karnataka's vaccination
drive for adults will not begin on May 1.
"The state government has not received any information from
companies about when they will be able to supply these vaccines,"
said Health Minister K Sudhakar.
WORLD SENDS MEDICAL AID
In Modi's home state of Gujarat, officials said vaccination for the
18-45 age group is expected to start in a fortnight, as the state
expects to receive vaccines by then.
"We will begin vaccinating those above 18 when we have the vaccine
stocks. We are working very hard to get the vaccines, and I am
confident we will be able to start the vaccination within the next
15 days,” the state’s Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said.
Officials in the eastern state of Odisha said they hoped to start
vaccinations on Monday, if vaccine stocks arrive.
Modi is scheduled to meet cabinet ministers on Friday as the wave of
infections cripples the nation's health system and threatens to
impact major businesses. Absenteeism in offices and industries is
growing with staff falling sick or taking leave to tend to sick
relatives.
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 World aid has started arriving
in India as it struggles to combat what has been
described as a humanitarian disaster.
The first U.S. flight carrying oxygen cylinders,
regulators, rapid diagnostic kits, N95 masks and
pulse oximeters arrived in the Indian capital
Delhi on Friday. "Just as India
came to our aid early in the pandemic, the U.S. is committed to
working urgently to provide assistance to India in its time of
need," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter.
"Today we are proud to deliver our first shipment of critical oxygen
equipment, therapeutics and raw materials for vaccine production."
The United States will send more than $100 million in medical aid,
including 1,000 oxygen cylinders, 15 million N95 masks and 1 million
rapid diagnostic tests. It also has redirected its own order of
AstraZeneca supplies to India, to allow it to make more than 20
million doses.
Shipments from other countries continued to pour in, with a third
one from the United Kingdom reaching earlier in the day. Romania and
Ireland also sent supplies late on Thursday.
TWO MORE WEEKS OF OXYGEN CRISIS
India’s severe medical oxygen supply crisis is expected to ease by
mid-May, a top industry executive told Reuters, with output rising
by 25% and transport infrastructure ready to cope with a surge in
demand.
India will receive a first batch of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine on
May 1. Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund, which markets Sputnik V
globally, has signed deals with five Indian manufacturers for more
than 850 million vaccine doses a year.
Prominent U.S. disease modeller Chris Murray, from the University of
Washington, said the sheer magnitude of infections in India in a
short period of time suggests an "escape variant" may be
overpowering any prior immunity from natural infections in those
populations.
"That makes it most likely that it’s B.1.617," he said. But Murray
cautioned that gene sequencing data on the coronavirus in India is
sparse, and that many cases are also being driven by the UK and
South African variants.
Carlo Federico Perno, Head of Microbiology and Immunology
Diagnostics at Rome's Bambino Gesù Hospital, said the Indian variant
couldn't alone be the reason for India's huge surge, pointing
instead to large social gatherings.
Modi has been criticised for allowing massive political rallies and
religious festivals which have been super-spreader events in recent
weeks.
(Reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Sanjeev Miglani in
Delhi, Shilpa Jamkhandikar in Mumbai; Writing by Michael Perry,
Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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