India is in crisis. As of May 6, according to India’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, there are about 3.6 million active cases, and 230,000 deaths. Estimates vary across sources, but India's total cases so far number about 21 million. Vaccination is proceeding, but some are questioning if there is enough time and supplies to vaccinate most of the population. The New York Times Covid World Vaccination Tracker (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html) reports that 2.2% of India’s population has been fully vaccinated, and 9.5% have received at least one dose.

Many have faulted the Government of India for premature confidence in their COVID-19 response. As CNN's Aditi Sangal reported (https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/india/india-covid-crisis-world-problem/index.html), Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being criticized for donating millions of vaccines to COVAX and various countries before the majority of India’s population was vaccinated. Modi has also been criticized for permitting a Hindu pilgrimage of a few million people traveling between regions, and holding election rallies. Intellectual property is another criticism. India, South Africa, and 80 other countries have continually asked the World Health Organization to remove the intellectual property rights from COVID-19 vaccines. Rachel D’Amore for Global News (https://globalnews.ca/news/7842160/covid-vaccine-canada-patent-waiver/) recently reported that the US now supports waiving the vaccine rights, and the EU is open to discussing the issue. Canada has not released a firm statement. Removing the rights from vaccines would allow more countries to produce their own vaccines rather than relying on imports.

India is one of the world's largest vaccine producers, but they are not able to vaccinate the entire population with internal production alone. According to the BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56345591), India has temporarily stopped exporting AstraZeneca vaccines to combat the shortages. This pause could be detrimental to the African continent and nearby countries, who rely on India’s vaccine supply. Vaccines are not the only depleted resource; oxygen supply and hospital beds are critically low. Many sick patients have had to wait on the street for medical attention, and some die before they are admitted. This crisis is causing grief and fear among India’s population as well as overseas relatives and members of the Indian diaspora.

India's crisis is a global problem. If transmission continues at its current rate, variants could appear more frequently. CNN reported that recent data show the Covaxin vaccine could be effective against the B1.617 variant, which has been identified as a potential factor in recent outbreaks. Though existing vaccines provide some protection, high transmission could result in resistant mutations. India, with the world's second-largest population, must be a global priority.