India’s Opposition demands faster vaccinations after 1.5 million new Covid cases

India, (Reuters), May 7, 2021 – India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanded the government rapidly vaccinate the entire country and scientifically track the coronavirus in an effort to curb a deadly second wave which saw 1.5 million new cases in a week.

“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,” Gandhi said in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

Modi has been widely criticised for not acting sooner to suppress the second wave, after religious festivals and
political rallies drew tens of thousands of people in recent weeks and became “super spreader” events.

His government has also been criticised for lifting social restrictions too soon following the first wave and for delays in the country’s vaccination programme, which medical experts say is India’s only hope of controlling the second COVID-19 wave.

While India is the world’s biggest vaccine maker, it is struggling to produce and distribute enough doses to stem the wave of COVID-19.

The Hindustan Times newspaper on Friday demanded: “Accelerate the vaccine drive, get the second wave of the pandemic under some control...”India reported another record daily rise in coronavirus cases, 414,188, on Friday, bringing total new cases for the week to 1.57 million. Total cases now stand at 21.49 million. Deaths from COVID-19 rose by 3,915 to 234,083.