India’s Covid-19 tsunami

Guard down: Just when the people in India stopped following appropriate behavioural guidelines, superspreader events proliferated: election rallies and religious festivals packed together unmasked throngs. — Reuters

IT is humbling when a columnist must retract his words soon after penning them. Just two months ago, after India rushed millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines to over 60 countries, I praised the country’s “vaccine diplomacy”. India’s aspirations to be recognised as a global power had been given a real boost.

Now, with more than 300,000 new cases a day and the death toll evidently much higher than reported, India is no one’s idea of a global leader. Hospital beds are now overflowing, oxygen supplies have dwindled, vaccination centres have run out of doses, and pharmacies are unable to meet the demand for antivirals. India is reeling.