More Covid-19 vaccines administered than procured? RTI reply bares Modi claim

By Rosamma Thomas*
The Narendra Modi government has done it before – data has been doctored or suppressed when it would have reflected poorly on India’s governance. Ahead of voting in the 2019 general elections, data about unemployment, which had reached a 45-year high, was suppressed. It was then released officially, once elections were over.
Prime Minister Modi is not renowned as an expert with numbers – he reportedly committed faux pas at Davos in 2018, that 600 crore voters had voted for him, when the total population of India is only 130 crore, with 80 crore registered voters.
Now, it appears that even the websites that the Government of India (GoI) operates may have lost the ability to count accurately – while the Cowin website that records the number of doses of Covid-19 vaccines administered in the country showed that 200 crore Covid vaccinations were administered by July 17, 2022.
In response to a Right to Information application from Rajiv Lather, HLL Lifecare Limited, the nodal government agency responsible for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines, said on August 26, 2022 that only 176.47 crore doses of vaccine had been procured by July 26, 2022.
On March 22, 2022 "The Free Press Journal" reported that the protocol for disposal of vaccine stocks that had expired was not clear – lakhs of doses were set to expire, and it as yet not clear what process of disposal would be followed.

It appears that the websites that the Government of India operates may have lost the ability to count accurately

In February 2022, WHO criticized richer nations that were dumping close-to-expiry-date vaccines on poor nations. By April 2022 Serum Institute of India announced that it would halt manufacture of vaccines as it had built up large stocks as there was a global glut and 200 million doses remained unused.

By August 2021, there were already questions raised about the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was sold by the name Covishield in India. By late 2021, South Africa, which had earlier ordered this vaccine, had stopped using it since data emerged casting doubts on its effectiveness. As the vaccine demand waned, by October 2022 AstraZeneca announced that it would focus more on drugs for respiratory infections and to treat cancer.

Globally, there are now calls to punish those who were responsible for compelling people to get the vaccine. Vaccine uptake in India too has plunged, even though the Cowin dashboard shows every day thousands of people continue to be vaccinated, and the numbers keep rising, with little clarity on the vaccination doses procured and used.
Rajiv Lather, who uncovered this information, questions if no wasteage occurred during transport or in storage. Besides, some doses were also exported to other nations as “grant”. So how is the government claiming that it has administered so many doses in addition to what HLL claims it has procured?
---
*Freelance journalist. Click here for RTI reply

Comments

Stagnating wages since 2014-15: Economists explain Modi legacy for informal workers

By Our Representative Real wages have barely risen in India since 2014-15, despite rapid GDP growth. The country’s social security system has also stagnated in this period. The lives of informal workers remain extremely precarious, especially in states like Jharkhand where casual employment is the main source of livelihood for millions. These are some of the findings presented by economists Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera at a press conference convened by the Loktantra Bachao 2024 campaign.

Modi win may force Pak to put Kashmir on backburner, resume trade ties with India

By Salman Rafi Sheikh* When Narendra Modi returned to power for a second term in India with a landslide victory in 2019, his government acted swiftly. Just months after the election, the Modi government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India. In doing so, it stripped the special constitutional status conferred on Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state, and downgraded its status from a state with its own elected assembly to a union territory administered by the central government in Delhi.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

'Assault on civic, academic freedom, right to dissent': TISS PhD student's suspension

By Our Representative The Mumbai-based civil rights group All India Secular Forum (AISF) has said that the suspension of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) PhD student Ramadas Prini Sivanandan (30) for two years for allegedly indulging in activities which were "not in the interest of the nation" is meant to send out the message that students and educational institutes will be targeted if they don’t align with the agenda and ideology of the ruling regime. TISS in a notice served to Ramadas has cited that his role in screening the documentary 'Ram Ke Naam' on January 26 as a "mark of dishonour and protest" against the Ram Mandir idol consecration in Ayodhya. Another incident cited in the notice was Ramadas’ participation in the protest against unfair government policies in Delhi under the banner of the Progressive Students' Forum (PSF)-TISS. TISS alleges the institute's name was "misused", which wrongfully created an impression that

Magnetic, stunning, Protima Bedi 'exposed' malice of sexual repression in society

By Harsh Thakor* Protima Bedi was born to a baniya businessman and a Bengali mother as Protima Gupta in Delhi in 1949. Her father was a small-time trader, who was thrown out of his family for marrying a dark Bengali women. The theme of her early life was to rebel against traditional bondage. It was extraordinary how Protima underwent a metamorphosis from a conventional convent-educated girl into a freak. On October 12th was her 75th birthday; earlier this year, on August 18th it was her 25th death anniversary.

Bill Gates as funder, author, editor, adviser? Data imperialism: manipulating the metrics

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD* When Mahatma Gandhi on invitation from Buckingham Palace was invited to have tea with King George V, he was asked, “Mr Gandhi, do you think you are properly dressed to meet the King?” Gandhi retorted, “Do not worry about my clothes. The King has enough clothes on for both of us.”

Why it's only Modi ki guarantee, not BJP's, and how Varanasi has seen it up-close

"Development" along Ganga By Rosamma Thomas* I was in Varanasi in this April, days before polling began for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There are huge billboards advertising the Member of Parliament from Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The only image on all these large hoardings is of the PM, against a saffron background. It is as if the very person of Modi is what his party wishes to showcase.

Following the 3000-year old Pharaoh legacy? Poll-eve Surya tilak on Ram Lalla statue

By Sukla Sen Located at a site called Abu Simbel in Nubia, Upper Egypt, the eponymous rock temples were created in 1244 BCE, under the orders of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1303-1213 BC)... Ramesses II was fond of showcasing his achievements. It was this desire to brag about his victory that led to the planning and eventual construction of the temples (interestingly, historians say that the Battle of Qadesh actually ended in a draw based on the depicted story -- not quite the definitive victory Ramesses II was making it out to be).

Joblessness, saffronisation, corporatisation of education: BJP 'squarely responsible'

Counterview Desk In an open appeal to youth and students across India, several student and youth organizations from across India have said that the ruling party is squarely accountable for the issues concerning the students and the youth, including expensive education and extensive joblessness.

India's "welcome" proposal to impose sin tax on aerated drinks is part of to fight growing sugar consumption

By Amit Srivastava* A proposal to tax sugar sweetened beverages like tobacco in India has been welcomed by public health advocates. The proposal to increase sin taxes on aerated drinks is part of the recommendations made by India’s Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian on the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the parliament of India.

Counterview

Search This Blog