According to the data from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoHSPP), 38 new officially confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported in Tajikistan yesterday, bringing a total number of the officially confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country to 12,815 as of the evening of December 16.
The number of coronavirus-linked deaths remains the same in the country – 89, a MoHSPP says.
41 COVID-19 patients were reportedly discharged after recovery yesterday. In all, 12,253 (97.4 percent) coronavirus patients have reportedly recovered in the country as of the evening of December 16.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Tajikistan is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Tajikistan when its index cases, in Dushanbe and Khujand, were confirmed on April 30, 2020.
The coronavirus COVID-19 is reportedly affecting 218 countries and territories around the world and two international conveyances.
Meanwhile, an article by Dr. Sreeram Chaulia entitled Indian-made COVID Vaccines Will Save the World notes that with vaccines from America's Pfizer and China's state-owned pharma group Sinopharm receiving their first overseas authorizations, the frantic race to produce and distribute the most-sought-after medicine in recent memory is on.
According to the mainstream narrative, vaccines produced by private-sector giants in the West are reportedly seen as competing against state-promoted vaccines from China and Russia to flood the world market.
“The contest looks like a pharmaceutical version of good versus evil that is being waged in the so-called new Cold War. But coming through the middle of this Manichaean pack is the runner that everyone has overlooked — India. The contest looks like a pharmaceutical version of good versus evil that is being waged in the so-called new Cold War. But coming through the middle of this Manichaean pack is the runner that everyone has overlooked – India”
According to Dr. Sreeram Chaulia, India has the largest vaccine manufacturing capacity in the world, accounting for 60% of global production, and boasts of cities like Hyderabad which has the medical infrastructure to meet one-third of global vaccine demand, earning it the title of "vaccine capital of the world." The Serum Institute of India, or SII, located in another Indian city, Pune, already churns out more than 1.5 billion doses per annum.
Apart from the lower cost advantage that accrues from economies of scale, Indian vaccine makers have established reputations when it comes to safety and efficacy, Dr. Sreeram Chaulia.
“Confident of its reliable inventory and positive image, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed "to help all humanity" in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. New Delhi has preordered 1.6 billion doses of vaccines from Britain's AstraZeneca, U.S.-based Novavax and the Gamaleya Research Institute in Moscow, all to be manufactured in India, and is also betting on locally researched vaccines from Indian companies like Bharat Biotech and Biological E.”
The Indian government aims to have enough vaccines for inoculating the minimum required 60% of its 1.3 billion strong domestic population as well as producing enough to supply other needy nations around the world.
Dr. Sreeram Chaulia is a Professor and Dean at the Jindal School of International Affairs in Sonipat, India. He is author of “Trumped: Emerging Powers in a Post-American World.”
