In yet another letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has said the Centre should scientifically track the virus and its mutations across the country using genome sequencing as well as its disease patterns.
He urged the Centre to dynamically assess the efficacy of all vaccines against all new mutations as they are identified.
Expedite vaccination process
Gandhi reiterated his party’s demand that the entire population must be rapidly vaccinated. “Be transparent and keep the rest of the world informed about our findings. Your government’s lack of a clear and coherent Covid and vaccination strategy, as well as its hubris in declaring premature victory as the virus was exponentially spreading, has placed India in a highly dangerous position: today the disease is growing explosively. It is currently on the verge of overwhelming all of our systems. GOI’s failures have made another devastating national lockdown almost inevitable,” he said.
Through the letter, he requested Modi to prevent a repeat of the manifold suffering caused by last year’s lockdown, and asked the Centre to act with compassion and provide critical financial and food support to our most vulnerable people. “In addition, it must be ready with a transportation strategy for those who will require it,” he added.
Economic impact
Talking about the reported concern the Prime Minister has about the economic impact of a lockdown, he said the human cost of allowing the virus to continue its march unimpeded will result in many more tragic consequences for the people than any purely economic calculations the Prime Minister’s advisors are suggesting. “In times of crisis, various stakeholders must be taken into confidence so we can all work together to safeguard India. Once again, I assure you of our support in the fight against this ferocious pandemic,” he said in the letter.
He feared that the double and triple mutant strains the country is currently grappling with are only the beginning. “Allowing the uncontrollable spread of this virus in our country will be devastating not only for our people but also for the rest of the world,” he said.