Thread by @sibinmohan, I’m seeing a massive disconnect (more so than usual) between the two [...]

I’m seeing a massive disconnect (more so than usual) between the two twitter worlds I usually inhabit — the US and India. It is important to bridge the two now for a very important reason: #CovidIndia

Please read the whole thread and amplify.

THREAD

1/17

Right now India stands on the brink of a massive humanitarian disaster, the likes of which we may have never seen before. #COVID is ravaging through the country of nearly 1.4 Billion people.

2/17

The medial facilities are breaking down, vaccines and critical medical supplies are in short supply, hospital facilities are overflowing with sick, dying and dead people, even oxygen is unavailable in most parts of the country.

3/17

Official reports put the number of new cases around 350,000/day with more than 2500 deaths/day. The upward trajectory on the right should tell a dark story (compare that with previous peaks in Sept. 2020).

4/17

But there are serious concerns that these numbers have been underreported by as much as 2x to 5x!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-22/even-record-death-toll-may-hide-extent-of-india-s-covid-crisis

5/17

Even Record Death Toll May Hide Extent of India’s Covid Crisis

Bodies piling up at crematoriums and burial grounds across India are sparking concerns that the death toll from a ferocious new Covid-19 wave may be much higher than official records, underplaying...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-22/even-record-death-toll-may-hide-extent-of-india-s-covid-crisis

Twitter India, over the last 1-2 weeks has been overrun by reports of people falling sick, dying in droves and literally gasping for air as even Oxygen is not available.

6/17

So why should someone in the US care much about it? Why am I posting this thread? Well apart from the fact that a massive humanitarian disaster is on the cards, the US is closely linked to this and can actively help on multiple fronts. Here are FIVE ways.

7/17

1. VACCINES. The US administration has stockpiled a massive amount of vaccines AND, more importantly, raw materials to manufacture future vaccines.

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/us-defends-restrictions-as-india-desperately-seeks-covid-vaccine-raw-materials-11619162290759.html

8/17

US defends restrictions as India desperately seeks Covid vaccine raw materials

'It is not only in the US interest to see Americans vaccinated; but it is in the interests of the rest of the world to see Americans vaccinated,' State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/us-defends-restrictions-as-india-desperately-seeks-covid-vaccine-raw-materials-11619162290759.html

If either, the vaccines or the raw material, were released, that would go a long way to help with this crisis. In fact, the Indian vaccine manufacturing industry (the largest in the world) can scale up quickly if the raw materials and supplies are released to it.

9/17

2. PATENTS. Another way to help would be loosen some of the patent protections for the American vaccines so that the Pfizer, Moderna and J&J vaccines can be produced in India at scale so that it can help the local populace.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00863-w

10/17

It’s time to consider a patent reprieve for COVID vaccines

The pandemic is not a competition between companies and will not end without more-equal distribution of coronavirus vaccines.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00863-w

3. DIPLOMACY. The current right-wing BJP government is more interested in winning elections than trying to mitigate the pandemic or even providing essential supplies to its citizens. Diplomatic pressure from the US government can, perhaps, put a spotlight on the crisis.

11/17

So call and/or write to your Congressional Representatives or Senators to seriously look at these issues. This will help a lot! When the US was in the grips of COVID and the Trump admin, a lot of goodwill came from around the world. So time to return some goodwill.

12/17

4. DONATE to organizations (medical as well as social) that are active on the ground and trying to deal with this situation. There are lots of resources available. Here is a list of some good ones:

https://twitter.com/sibinmohan/status/1385712808524800001?s=20

13/17

https://twitter.com/sibinmohan/status/1385712808524800001?s=20

Note, many right wing supporters are in the mentions of Americans asking people to donate to the Prime Ministers CARES fund. Please DO NOT do this! That money has zero accountability or traceability and is being used for political purposes.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/indian-leaders-virus-fund-wont-disclose-donors-payments/2020/07/14/51227e04-c58a-11ea-a825-8722004e4150_story.html

14/17

Indian leader’s virus fund won’t disclose donors, payments

Ordinary citizens, industrialists, Bollywood stars and foreign companies are donating to a new fund created by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen the country’s fight against the...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/indian-leaders-virus-fund-wont-disclose-donors-payments/2020/07/14/51227e04-c58a-11ea-a825-8722004e4150_story.html

5. EMPATHY. Also a little concern for your Indian friends, colleagues, students, employees — they are under major mental and physical stress. Many of them have family that is affected (infections, deaths, hospitalizations). This situation has left no one untouched.

15/17

In the end, I would say: at least raise awareness of the issue! This is not another “not my problem” situations. COVID raging this badly in one of the world’s most populous nations will find its way to affect *everyone*, Americans included!

Thanks for your help!

16/17

Here is actually a good list of organizations in India and trustworthy new sources if you want to donate and/or learn more.

17/17

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10ca5YH5YUtp7Qe63sVNX1SlepQcvzc4RCwLhMBvTJyE/mobilebasic

You can follow @sibinmohan.

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