India's COVID situation is concerning.
The latest data from Our World In Data reveals that cases in India have exploded in the last month, with 1.7 million new cases confirmed in the last 7 days alone. That is roughly 3x the previous peak that topped out at around 650,000 new cases per week back in September. This latest surge is partly being blamed on a new COVID variant, dubbed B.1.617, which is thought to be more transmissible.
The recent wave is beginning to overwhelm healthcare facilities in India, with authorities in New Delhi announcing that hospitals could begin to run out of medical oxygen sometime today. Tuesday also saw the country register its highest ever death toll, with 1,761 official deaths recorded, although some experts believe the official numbers are likely to be undercounted across the country.
The situation in India is particularly frustrating as India is the world's largest vaccine maker, thanks to the Serum Institute of India. In a typical year India would produce roughly 60% of the world's vaccines.
For a country with such vaccine expertise, the COVID vaccination drive has been solid, but unspectacular. More than 120 million doses have been administered in India, which is an impressive logistical feat, but for a country with a population of more than 1.3 billion people actually equates to less than 10% coverage.
