Posted on May 8, 2021
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
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Last year (2020), after Covid-19 spread from Wuhan in China across Europe, Americas, Africa, Middle East and Asia like a hurricane or typhoon, India jumped to provide vaccine to affected nations, including the U.S., Brazil, UK, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives. Modi also delivered vaccine to East and West Africa, among other allies. The Central Government didn't plan for such a devastating second wave, which includes the 'Double Mutant' and other fast-spreading variants. Today, India is short of vaccine, oxygen and beds in medical treatment facilities. India is having to rely on return favors at a time when confirmed cases and deaths are surging due to the Covid-19 infection. Was India prepared for this second wave of Covid-19 or is poor performance, bad decisions, politics and diplomacy to blame for this brilliant turnaround?
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Responses: 14
Lt Col Charlie Brown
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I suspect a combination of the two.
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SFC Casey O'Mally
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I think the bigger problem in India is historic. They traditionally spend a pitifully low amount of money on medical infrastructure. Their entire medical system is woefully unprepared for this, regardless of anything the central government did or did not do for the past year.

That is not to say they could not have made better decisions or taken better steps in the last year, just that I believe they would be in a similar position right now, regardless of what the government had done.

Of course 90% of the cases and 85% of the deaths is FAR better than 100% - especially for that 10% / 15% and their families.
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CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
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Very well can be true.
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MAJ Byron Oyler
MAJ Byron Oyler
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The problem with being ready for a 100year pandemic is medical supplies expire and ventilators have seals that deteriorate over time and to stay ready every year for something that may never come costs millions. The vents in our DOD hospital units do not have the modes for COVID patients and the medical stock piles the government has on hand is in the millions if not billions and pretty much all of it has an expiration date. Imagine in our litigious country that if someone was issued an expired N95 and then caught COVID? Any other year, spending that kind of money in prep for something that may never come would be crazy but in 2020 and 2021, it is the government's fault for not being prepared.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
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I would suspect Demographics of India make it harder to control. High population density and many household still multi generational, and lack of access to medical care in much of rural India.
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CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
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The Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation, the Mother Teresa Charitable Trust and Government have teamed to give rural India better medical treatment facilities, yet in many villages there is resistance to allopathic treatment.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
CPT Lawrence Cable
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CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana - Still, if you look at totals per 100,000, India still isn't near the top of the pack. India's number match France, are considerably lower than a lot of Eastern Europe, South America and the Middle East. Almost 3 million cases sounds like a huge number until you consider that there are almost 1.4 Billion people in India. Even in the US, the numbers need to be considered in the context of a Population of 330 million people.
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A1C Alexa Cosson
A1C Alexa Cosson
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Not to mention poor hygiene and lack of proper facilities to provide advanced care. The Indian doctors I've worked with here in the US are very conscientious about cleanliness.
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