India is currently fighting a new wave of COVID-19 that is killing thousands each day. The country has seen reported cases rise from about 20,000 per day to more than 300,000 per day between March and April 2021.
The current situation is extremely serious, with more than 17.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 198,000 confirmed deaths as of April. At the current rate of infection, it is projected that nearly 960,000 people in India will die from COVID-19. Additionally, vaccine hesitancy is high within the country, with less than 60% of population willing to be vaccinated. This accounts for the low vaccination rate so far in the country—only 9.5% of the population currently is vaccinated.
As India is seeing this spike in cases—which many officials are attributing to COVID-19 variants—officials are imposing a new lockdown, to prevent the collapse of a healthcare system that is already facing a critical shortage of beds, ventilators and lifesaving medical-grade oxygen.
With COVID-19 rampant in the world’s second most-populous nation, the global health community is on high alert. International and national agencies are ramping up efforts to combat the virus in India, to help flatten the curve of this wave of cases and prevent the spread of new, vaccine-resistant strains.
International Medical Corps is requesting and mobilizing resources to work with in-country partners. Together, we will help meet the most urgent health needs—providing supplies like oxygen concentrators, ventilators, patient monitors, and personal protective equipment and hygiene care; as well as setting up temporary COVID facilities. We will also address concerns of vaccine hesitancy, key to not only addressing this surge now, but cases moving forward. As the situation evolves, our teams will remain flexible in our response and consider the entire continuum of care.
*Note for recurring donations: Once we have determined that the community can continue to respond to the after effects of this emergency without us, we will scale back our response efforts. At that time, we will redirect your future donations to where it is needed most to help us respond to future outbreaks of conflict, disease or natural disasters.
