As we transition to 2021, my mind takes a bird’s -eyeview of the world . 2020 has  not been a kind year. Besides the usual natural calamities that hit many parts of the world,, including USA where we have regular storm season which causes huge destruction inmany parts of the country, the one catastrophe that befell the world is the COVID-19- a virus which by the end of the year 2020 had snuffed out 1,833,437  lives  and infected 84,281,678.Worse, it still is raging, and threatening to appear in different avatars. The world shook and is stillshaking before this monster of a virus which nobody appears to be certain,  when it will withdraw or get decimated. The number one country of the world, the most powerful nation in the world USA has the distinction of being the weakest  before the might of Coronavirus, with      lives lost 355,935  and  20,672,813 persons infected. People living in fear. People living under lockdown. No travel, No outings, No parties.   Schools closed. Entertainment centers closed . Life came to a standstill. Consider the health implications of a forced confinement, and long periods of quarantine for those infected and even for those not infected, because they had come in contact with those infected. Most believe life will never again be the same for them.

There is a ray of hope in the vaccines which have been developed. It should go to the credit of scientist and pharmaceutical companies which came up with the vaccines in record time of less than a year.  In the U.S.  Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine are  already being administered. In Britain , University of Oxford- Astrazeneca’s vaccine has been approved, and Britons are getting the shots. Russia and China have also come up with their indigenous vaccines. So has India where an indigenous vaccine “Covishield” is on the threshold of getting approval of the government of India and will soon be available. The question is,  though we have now close to half a dozen vaccine brands  available , will there be enough for the whole world, a population of 7.8 billion?. Another is, how long will it take to vaccinate each of the inhabitants of the planet?

The very question of distribution of vaccine in various countries is causing worries. There is bound to be  a scramble for getting vaccinated. Who wants to die? Nobody, I believe. I hope we all remember when in the initial days of the pandemic hitting the world, here in USA where we are proud of our ethical standards, we had seen PPE disappearing from shelves in the stores. Even paper towels and sanitizers, the basic protections needed against Coronavirus disappeared from stores.  We submitted to price gouging. Only those who had resources could buy even the basic stuff like paper towels and sanitizers. I was personally aware of the many  stores run by the  self-proclaimed“charitable”  Indian community  which were unashamedly exploiting the hapless situation of people. It should go to the credit of the administration that many were disciplined.

However, my concern is , based on what happened at the beginning of the outbreak of the virus with regard to PPE, the same may not happen now with regard to the vaccine. It will have to be ensured that , one, all get it; and two, all get it without having to pay a high price. I am afraid, when the present talk of vaccinating the whole population gets a little old, and the vaccine is available on stores, the usual greed of pharmaceutical companies and pharmaceutical dealers will come into play, jacking up the price of the vaccine, and making the vaccine  beyond the reach of the people at the lower step of economic ladder. Added to it, price gouging may also come in to play. We cannot change the basic nature of the businesses  who never miss an opportunity to make money, however loud their claims of high ethical standards. .

I may be a little assured of a seemingly just deal for the people  in America, but to be thinking of a “seemingly just deal” in India is beyond my imagination. India may be a democracy, but it has a feudal system and a feudal mindset.  A country which believes in “might is right”; a country which believes in caste supremacy; a country which is known to have an exploitative society, one cannot imagine the vaccine to be reaching the poorest of the poor. To a vast number (close to 60%) , one meal a day is a luxury. A vast number of India’s population does not know what a doctor is, what medicines are. It is a country at the mercy of gods, and the lesser gods that people themselves chose to serve them, who, took no time to become their feudal masters. I am worried for the people of India.

The enemy is still there. We have to continue to fight until the enemy is vanquished. It will need the united strength of the whole world to annihilate the demon of Coronavirus. It will also need a willing suspension of our greed for the sake of the need of the suffering masses.

My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones to Covid. I bow my head to our heroes- doctors, nurses , frontline workers who lost  their lives in the line of duty.

Let me take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the loyal readers and patrons of The Indian Panorama who have been a great support for the last 15 years. I must thank my family who have been my best counselors and advisers , guiding and supporting me at each step. I am obliged to every single person with whom I ever came into contact for the very opportunity to know them.

Let us welcome 2021 with an attitude of hope and faith. Happy New Year!