Dear Express Explained Reader, A week ago, India officially went past 3 lakh Covid-19 deaths, close to half of which have occurred in the second wave of the pandemic that began in mid-February. The overwhelming majority of second wave deaths have come in the past two months. The question is, how much worse can it get — and given the steady decline in infections since May 6, could the death count be close to its peak? As with many things about this pandemic, there are no firm answers. But Amitabh Sinha looked at some key metrics and the situation in some of India’s hotspot states to take stock of where we stand. Meanwhile, research around the world continues to throw up new findings around aspects of the pandemic, including variants and vaccines. Scientist Dr Tushar Gore, one of The Indian Express’s panel of experts, wrote about the effectiveness of the two-dose vaccine regimen, and unpacked data from latest studies on the length of the interval between the doses. Tabassum Barnagarwala explained a range of issues around the shortage of Amphotericin B, the primary drug used in the treatment of mucormycosis, the fungal infection that has emerged as a major challenge associated with Covid-19. What is the burden of mucormycosis in India, how much of the drug do we need, and how much do we produce? What are the bottlenecks restricting its supply to patients in dire need? Moving away from the pandemic, there are three other explainers that I would like to flag to you, around which you are likely to have read news reports through this week. Aashish Aryan wrote about the safe harbour protection offered to social media intermediaries under Section 79 of the IT Act, and the ways in which it facilitates the working of social media platforms. With the big platforms failing to comply with requirements laid down by the government, they now stand to lose these protections. What happens then? Many of you would have noticed the fairly dramatic increase in the prices of edible oils over the last year. How much edible oils do Indians consume? How much have prices risen by, and what domestic and international factors have driven the increase? And what happens now? Harikishan Sharma wrote a detailed and very useful explainer. Finally, do read Vishnu Varma’s succinct summary of the roots of the ongoing agitation in Lakshadweep. What are the proposals that Administrator Praful K Patel has made, and why are the residents of the island upset? As always, stay safe. With the availability of vaccines uncertain, masks and distancing remain our most important weapons against the virus. Sincerely, Monojit (monojit.majumdar@expressindia.com) If you received this newsletter as a forward, you can subscribe to it here | Do read our Explained articles here | .png)
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