Vaccination: next phase
The news that vaccination for senior citizens, and for those aged 45 and above with co-morbidities, will begin soon assumes extra significance in view of the surge in new COVID-19 cases (“Vaccine rollout for older people soon: Health Ministry,” Feb. 24). But the vaccination coverage achieved in the first phase does not inspire much confidence. Vaccine hesitancy still appears to be very high. One of the major factors seems to be the low acceptance of Covaxin. If this is the state of affairs among healthcare workers, vaccine hesitancy may be much higher in the general population. If top political leaders get vaccinated publicly in front of cameras, people may be less hesitant to take the vaccines. The government should also intensify its public awareness programme about the safety of the vaccines.
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Kosaraju Chandramouli,
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Hyderabad
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Bail for Disha
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It is only paranoia that could make a government arrest a 22-year-climate activist (“Delhi court grants bail to Disha,” Feb. 24).
Her arrest shows that this government is more concerned about its international image than justice. It is unfortunate that there has been more focus on Disha Ravi than on Deep Sidhu who was arrested for allegedly being one of the main instigators of the violence on Republic Day. We still don’t know his motivation and affiliations. The same thing happened during the Delhi riots: those who went live on camera instigating violence have gone scot-free while students were beaten up and arrested.
Keshab M.,
Pune
The Delhi court’s order vindicates the ruling that bail should be the norm, not jail. It is appalling that the offence of sedition, which should not be part of our statute books, was ominously invoked just because Disha disagreed with the state’s policies, without a shred of evidence supporting the charge.
Ayyasseri Raveendranath,
Aranmula
It looks like the Centre wanted to create fear in the minds of dissenters and accomplish its objective of painting the farmers’ agitation as “anti-national” by arresting Disha. These are high-handed and motivated acts of the police.
Deepak Singhal,
Noida
No ‘cow science’ exam
While it is welcome news that the Animal Husbandry Department has said that the Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) had no mandate to conduct the ‘cow science’ examination, it is hard to believe that the RKA was going to conduct this exam on its own without the Department’s green signal (“Ministry disowns ‘cow science’ examination”, Feb. 24). It is more disturbing to learn that the RKA had the backing of the UGC. Suffice to say the department is trying to fend off criticism due to the outrage.
C.G. Kuriakose,
Kothamangalam
Claims about Coronil
It is shocking that two Union Ministers were present at the press conference where Patanjali promoted Coronil and lied that it had been endorsed by the World Health Organization (“IMA shocked by claims of certification for Coronil,” Feb. 23). That the Central government allowed a private company to make such an unsubstantiated claim during a pandemic is deplorable.
Mohd Sahil,
Tiruchi