Recently, with vaccinations being administered, we have had hope for the end of the pandemic. Cases rose throughout April and May of 2020, fell and remained steady throughout the summer months, rose again in the fall and winter, and now they have fallen.

An estimated 243 million doses of a COVID vaccine have been administered throughout the United States, with about 100 million people being fully vaccinated. On Saturday, May 1st, it was reported that the weekly average of cases fell 17 percent from the week prior. 

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has now announced that fully vaccinated people can attend small outdoor gatherings without wearing a mask. Although some countries such as Australia and New Zealand have gone completely back to pre-pandemic life, other countries have now seen the worst of it. India in particular has recently seen a very large uptick in cases.

In the past two weeks, the amount of COVID-19 cases in India have skyrocketed, shooting from just 10,000 cases every day to 100,000, to more than 400,000 daily. The second wave of COVID-19 has hit India, and it’s devastating.

The increase in COVID-caused deaths in India is overwhelming crematoriums, with bodies piling up faster than workers can build new body-carrying devices and cremate them. In New Delhi, the Seemapuri crematorium is having to improvise for the many dead bodies by extending their body-cremating sites to their parking lot. The head of the Seemapuri crematorium even said that they went from cremating 10 people daily to now more than 100 people every day. This is also the case for so many other crematoriums in India, in cities where COVID-19 cases are shooting through the roof. 

Aside from crematoriums, India’s healthcare system is struggling tremendously. Hospitals are facing shortages in nearly every aspect: supplies, workers, and space. It was reported in 2019-2020 by the Indian government that there is 1 doctor for every 1,456 people in the country. Although this low doctor to people ratio has always been an issue, it’s never been so concerning until now. Hospitals lack the medical supplies to treat the millions who need treatment, with the most concerning shortage being the oxygen supply. Many companies, hospitals, and the government are rushing to supply oxygen to the millions that need it when in reality, there isn’t enough to go around. Facilities that produce liquid oxygen are mainly concentrated in eastern India, but it’s western India, Delhi, and other places that are facing the worst COVID-19 outbreaks. For the patients living on the opposite side of India, they have to wait several days to get those supplies. Less than 10% of Indians have gotten the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

India’s government is taking action in hopes of reducing their number of cases. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the building of 100,000 portable oxygen concentrators due to the lack of oxygen supply in hospitals. Tata, an Indian company, stated that they’d import 24 cryogenic containers to transport liquid oxygen. Another company, Jindal Steel and Power, has promised to supply 500 tons of liquid oxygen to hospitals. Along with this, Mukesh Ambani, a billionaire owning an oil company, has reported that he will produce over 700 tons of medical-grade oxygen every day at one oil refinery. Many have criticized the Indian government for not taking better precautions towards the pandemic, and Primer Minister Modi’s image has been damaged at the hands of the second wave. For the election in India, Modi’s party lost an important election in West Bengal, a battleground state he had been visiting many times to campaign for, with many thinking it was because of his lack of response to the COVID-19 situation. 

The very unfortunate crisis in India is leaving many hopeless and devastated, but there are still some things we can do to help, even if it’s not the biggest impact. The main way is through donations, and if you can’t donate yourself, you can always share the link to those donations with friends and family. The link to an article I found has many links to well-known donations that will help India in various ways: https://nymag.com/strategist/article/india-covid-19-crisis-where-to-donate.html