Good morning! The Second Wave In a key hearing on the Covid crisis that covered a range of issues, from vaccines and oxygen to testing and hospital admissions, the Supreme Court described the pricing of vaccines as “extremely important” and asked the Government if it was “doing something” to regulate the prices. The court also warned state governments against any clampdown on grievances shared online by the public on the crisis. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court said the State has failed to protect the most fundamental of rights — the right to life — after it was informed of the death of a person who had petitioned the court for an ICU bed. A day before the nationwide vaccination drive opened up for all adults, without providing details the Centre said that only “some states” which have “co-ordinated” with vaccine makers on procuring from the open market, will begin the drive. Only in the Express In an interview with The Indian Express, Chief Medical adviser to the Biden administration, Dr Anthony Fauci, addressed the Covid crisis in India: “I think the most important thing in the immediate is to get oxygen, get supplies, get medication, get PPE, those kinds of things but also, one of the immediate things to do is to essentially call a shutdown of the country.” Speaking to The Indian Express, AIIMS Chief Dr Randeep Guleria stresses on the need for localised lockdowns amidst the aggressive second wave, asks people not to rush to hospitals in panic, and advises against the use of steroids in the early stage of the virus. 
A patient on oxygen support in an ambulance during the entry at Jumbo Covid-19 hospital at Shivaji nagar. (📸 by Arul Horizon) Must Read Former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee, widely regarded as a tireless champion of free speech and citizens’ civil liberties, succumbed to Covid-19 on Friday. Coomi Kapoor looks back at his truly remarkable life in law, human rights, press freedom and humanity. A sharp uptick in vaccination rates during the first three months of April and a thinning buffer stock have led to the acute shortage of Covid jabs in states across the country. In April, India witnessed the highest demand for vaccines in a month with 90.50 million doses administered by Friday. Meanwhile, with little buffer left, daily administered doses have slid below 2 million shots per day this week, from an average of around 2.5-3 million daily doses in the initial weeks of April. At around 5 PM everyday, critically ill Covid patients and their relatives gather on either side of a large glass window at a makeshift 45-bed ICU in the government-run K C General Hospital in north Bengaluru. Here CCTV screens have been mounted on either side of the window, for patients and their loved ones to catch glimpses of one another at the same time every day. And Finally... Cricketers from Bihar’s Under-23, Under-19 and senior teams have been awaiting payments from the BCCI for the last two seasons. “I haven’t received money till date. Now my elder brother has tested positive for the coronavirus. I don’t know where I will get money from,” said Prashant Singh, a 21-year-old fast bowler from Bihar, who is yet to receive about Rs 8 lakh.
Delhi Confidential: During a hearing in the Supreme Court, Justice DY Chandrachud was logged off the call, to which a lawyer said the justice had “fallen off”. When he returned and was told about the lawyer’s comment, he responded, “That is only in the hands of God. I had only been logged off.” Until tomorrow, Rahel Philipose 
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