How India Fought COVID-19 | Inside Modi Government’s Vaccine Drive, Lockdown & Global Aid Effort
As the Narendra Modi government completes 4,299 days in office, few challenges tested the administration as severely as the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a once-in-a-century
As the Narendra Modi government completes 4,299 days in office, few challenges tested the administration as severely as the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a once-in-a-century crisis that brought even the world's most advanced healthcare system to their knees. Yet, despite being home to nearly one-sixth of humanity, India emerged from the pandemic not just as a country fighting COVID, but as a nation helping the world fight it. When the pandemic hit in 2020, the Modi government imposed an early nationwide lockdown, aimed at slowing the transmission of the virus and buying time to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure. Hospitals were expanded, testing capacity was ramped up from virtually scratch, and domestic manufacturing of PPE kits and ventilators was accelerated. But the defining chapter of India's COVID response was undoubtedly the vaccinations. On January 16, 2021, India launched what became the world's largest vaccination drive. The scale was unprecedented. Vaccine had to reach remote Himalayan villages, desert settlements, islands and densely populated urban centres alike.
The government relied on a combination of digital technology, grassroots health workers and domestic vaccine manufacturers to make it happen. At the heart of the campaign was the COWIN platform, which enabled registration, appointment scheduling and digital vaccination certificates on a massive scale. The system became a global case study in the use of technology for public health delivery. The results were staggering. India administered more than 200 crore vaccine doses, making it one of the largest and fastest vaccination campaigns ever undertaken anywhere in the world. But India's COVID story was not limited to its own borders. Even while running the world's largest vaccination programme at home, India launched Vaccine Maitri, a global outreach initiative that reflected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of India as a responsible global partner. Just days after beginning the vaccinations domestically, India started sending these vaccinations overseas as well. The first consignment went to neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Maldives, and followed by Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and many others.
Over time, India's vaccine diplomacy expanded dramatically. By mid-2022, India had supplied more than 235 million vaccine doses to 98 countries through grants, commercial exports and the global Covax initiative. At one stage, the government informed the parliament that India had supplied vaccine doses to 94 countries and two UN agencies, while COVID-related medicines and medical assistance reached more than 150 countries. In a world where many wealthy nations were focused primarily on securing supplies for themselves, India's decision to share vaccines with developing countries earned global recognition and strengthened its diplomatic footprints across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Of course, the pandemic also brought difficult moments, particularly during the devastating second wave of 2021. But supporters of the government argued that India's eventual recovery, record vaccination coverage, digital vaccine architecture and role as the pharmacy of the world demonstrated the country's capacity to respond to an unprecedented global emergency.
The BriefWire