Stopping India’s Covid problem

It’s been more than one year since Covid hit countries across the globe. As some countries are healing, others are collapsing. India is seeing the worst of it with multiple strains of the virus being detected and over a quarter million deaths varying from children, parents and grandparents.

Why is this happening when rates continue to drop in America? Overcrowding and false information is being spread throughout India and the health care systems are underfunded. Vaccination sites are being overrun by massive groups of people desperate to be as safe as possible, and accessible face protectors are becoming sparse. Hospitals are having to house patients in the hallways with overcrowding being an understatement.

With the world in shock from their own Covid problems, we struggle to see why India has it so much worse. India saw four thousand deaths in one day, plus 23 million confirmed cases and over five million active cases. India needs the world’s help, and fast.

Going to stores like Costco and Walmart, I see massive stacks of boxes with the now iconic blue surgical mask used by doctors and millions of people. These masks could help so many people, but they just sit there. What we should be doing is collecting a large amount of these masks and shipping them to India to be distributed throughout the poorer sections of the country. In addition, surrounding countries like China, Russia and Australia should invest in spare medical workers and outdoor treatment camps to help with the overcrowding in India.

Another thing that would help India would be to stop the spread of false treatment narratives. In India, cows are said to “ward off” Covid-19, which is completely false. Political figures need to speak up against such falsities. Another problem is that the Indian government is underfunding the healthcare systems while they struggle to help the infected.

Social distancing in India is harder to do because of the density of the cities, so masks and other facial protectors are very much needed. We also forget that there are villages that need actual doctors and medical workers because they don’t have any at all. Medical grade masks are completely out of the question in these villages, and even homemade masks are somewhat rare because they have to use the little materials they have.

Why should America help out? A lot of companies in America, like Apple, Amazon and Whirlpool, rely on labor factories to supply them with the product or materials they need, and many which produce their products are in India and surrounding countries. If we don’t help them contain this outbreak it could kill hundreds of thousands more, and even damage the economy of America. 

We all want Covid to go away, so we should all work together to see a future like that. If we all work together, we may see that day a lot sooner than you think.