What We Know About India’s Deadly Second Wave of Covid-19 – The New York Times

A deadly second wave of coronavirus infections is devastating India, leaving millions of people infected and putting stress on the countrys already overtaxed health care system.

Officially, by the beginning of May, more than 19.3 million infections had been confirmed and more than 219,000 people were dead, but experts said the actual figures were most likely much higher. In the same period, India was responsible for more than half of the worlds daily Covid-19 cases, setting a record-breaking pace of more than 300,000 a day.

For the most up-to-date figures, The New York Times is tracking the latest case counts here.

Months ago, India appeared to be weathering the pandemic. After a harsh initial lockdown, the country did not see an explosion in new cases and deaths comparable to those in other countries.

But after the early restrictions were lifted, many Indians stopped taking precautions. Large gatherings, including political rallies and religious festivals, resumed and drew millions of people.

Beginning this spring, the country recorded an exponential jump in cases and deaths.

By April, some vaccinated individuals, including 37 doctors at one New Delhi hospital, were found to have contracted the virus, leaving many to wonder if a more contagious variant was behind the second wave.

Many in India already assume that the variant, B.1.617, is responsible for the severity of the second wave. The variant is sometimes called the double mutant, though the name is a misnomer because it has many more mutations than two. It garnered the name because one version contains two genetic mutations found in other difficult-to-control variants.

Researchers outside of India say the limited data so far suggests instead that the variant called B.1.1.7, which has affected Britain and the United States, is more likely to blame.

So far, the evidence is inconclusive, and researchers caution that other factors could explain the viciousness of the outbreak.

At the center of the Indias crisis is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who early this year declared victory over the virus.

Mr. Modis Covid-19 task force did not meet for months. His health minister assured the public in March that India had reached the pandemics endgame. As infections rose, Mr. Modi allowed large gatherings to help his governing Bharatiya Janata Party and burnish its Hindu nationalist credentials. His government approved a Hindu festival with millions of worshipers. He campaigned in state elections without a mask at rallies of thousands of maskless supporters.

Critics say his administration was determined to cast an image of India as back on track and open for business despite lingering risks. At one point, officials dismissed warnings by scientists that Indias population remained vulnerable and had not achieved herd immunity as some in his administration were suggesting.

The growing distress across the country has tarnished Mr. Modis aura of political invulnerability, which he won by steamrolling the opposition and by leveraging his personal charisma to become Indias most powerful politician in decades. Opposition leaders are on the attack, and his central hold on power has increasingly made him the target of scathing criticism online.

In the first local elections since the start of the second wave, Mr. Modis B.J.P. was unable was unable to secure a much-sought-after victory on Sunday in West Bengal, one of Indias most populous states. The B.J.P. won more seats in the local legislature than it did in the last election, but was unable to seize control from the opposition All India Trinamool Congress, an indication of displeasure at Mr. Modis handling of the Covid crisis.

Overwhelmed by new cases, Indian hospitals cannot cope with the demand, and patients in many cities have been abandoned to die.

Understand the Covid Crisis in India

Clinics across the country have reported an acute shortage of hospital beds, medicines, protective equipment and oxygen.

The Indian government says that it has enough liquid oxygen to meet medical needs and that it is rapidly expanding its supply. But production facilities are concentrated in eastern India, far from the worst outbreaks in Delhi and in the western state of Maharashtra, and it can take several days for supplies to reach there by road.

Families of the sick are filling social media with pleas for oxygen as supplies run low at hospitals or because they are trying to administer care at home.

Some in Delhi say they have paid at least 10 times the usual price for oxygen, and the news media have carried reports of cylinders being looted from hospitals.

India is one of the worlds leading vaccine manufacturers, but it has struggled to inoculate its citizens.

Less than 10 percent of Indians have gotten even one dose. Now, the countrys pain may be felt around the world, especially in poorer countries.

India had planned to ship out millions of doses. But given its stark vaccination shortfall, exports have essentially been shut down, leaving other nations with far fewer doses than they had expected.

Charities, volunteers and businesses in India and beyond are trying to help the countrys Covid victims and frontline workers.

(Before giving money to an organization, make sure you feel comfortable with it. In the United States, sites like Guidestar and Charity Navigator grade nonprofits on their effectiveness and financial health.)

Here are a few ways to help.

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What We Know About India's Deadly Second Wave of Covid-19 - The New York Times