The number of registered coronavirus infections in South Asia has exceeded 30 million today, writes Reuters. India, the world’s second most populous country, has the highest number of infections, with the second wave of the pandemic even exacerbated by a lack of vaccinations.
In the states of the South Asian region, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, 18 percent of the world’s infections are recorded, while 10 percent of deaths are recorded. However, there are growing fears that the actual numbers are much higher than those measured.
This month, India launched an intensive vaccination campaign among the entire population over the age of 18, but failed to provide enough vaccine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sharply criticized for insufficient vaccinations. In a country with a population of 1.3 billion, only 3 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, the lowest rate among the ten most infected states.
To meet domestic demand, India, which produces significant quantities of vaccine, has stopped exporting and donating vaccines as early as March. By then, 66 million doses had been sold or donated.
The cut-off of supplies to India is forcing Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and several African countries to seek other sources of supply.
The number of people infected with the coronavirus daily in India has been declining in recent days, which promises that the second wave will soon subside.
To date, 27.6 million infections and 318,895 deaths have been recorded in India.
– .
