Sustaining the response: Inside India's second wave

What does India’s COVID-19 crisis mean for the world?

India is battling a catastrophe presented by the coronavirus as a second wave brings its healthcare system near collapse. The South Asian country has set a world record in COVID-19 cases, putting pressure on hospital beds and draining oxygen supplies, and its Supreme Court has declared a national emergency after a new 'double mutant' variant of the coronavirus had been detected alongside other strains of the virus.

Large religious gatherings, the reopening of most public places and crowded election rallies are being blamed for the uptick in cases. Narendra Modi’s government has been accused of complacency, declaring the country was 'in the endgame' of the pandemic in early March, yet hospitals are now overwhelmed and less than 10 per cent of the population has received a first dose of the vaccine.

Emma Ross and David Heymann are joined by Sujatha Rao and Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan to discuss the implications of India’s COVID-19 crisis for the world. How can India’s second wave be brought under control? Are vaccines the way out of the crisis in India? What are the most significant challenges ahead and what are the implications of India’s burden for the global control of the pandemic?

Sujatha Rao served as union secretary at Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the government of India until 2010 where she was involved in the first ever national programme for non-communicable diseases, the process for a national policy for use of antibiotics and introducing vaccines in public health. Previously she was director-general of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) from 2006-09. She has also represented India on boards of the WHO, Global Fund and UNAIDS.

Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan is founder and director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) in Washington, D.C. and New Delhi, and a senior research scholar at Princeton University. He is an affiliate professor at the University of Washington and a visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and at the University of Kwazulu Natal in South Africa.