India saved 3.4 million lives during Corona epidemic, confirms Stanford University’s report

The country witnessed horrendous times during the first and second waves of the Corona period. During the second wave of this epidemic, we saw a very frightening time when people were searching for oxygen cylinders. But the Modi government’s initiatives taken at that time against corona brought relief for the people and these initiatives were lauded all over the world. Although the way the Government of India launched the campaign against Corona has been praised worldwide, a section of the opposition criticised the government, which is another matter.

Now a report by Stanford University has also lauded the initiatives of the Government of India. The report by Stanford University and Institute for Competitiveness titled “Healing the Economy: Estimating the Economic Impact on India’s vaccination and related issues” discusses the role of containment as a measure to prevent the spread of the virus. It highlights that, as against the top-down approach, a bottom-up approach was critical in containing the virus. Moreover, the Stanford report remarkably notes that robust measures at the ground level, like contact tracing, mass testing, home quarantine, distribution of essential medical equipment, revamping healthcare infrastructure, and constant coordination among stakeholders at the centre, state, and district levels, not only helped contain the spread of the virus but also in augmenting the health infrastructure.

It elaborates the three cornerstones of India’s strategy – containment, relief package, and vaccine administration. It observes that these three measures were critical in saving lives and ensuring economic activity by containing the spread of the COVID-19, sustaining livelihoods, and developing immunity against the virus. The working paper further notes that India was able to save more than 3.4 million lives by undertaking the nationwide vaccination campaign at an unprecedented scale. As per the working paper, the vaccination campaign was always on saving lives. However, it also yielded a positive economic impact by preventing the loss of US$ 18.3 billion. A net benefit of US$ 15.42 billion occurred for the nation after taking into consideration the cost of the vaccination campaign.

The report reflected that the benefits of vaccination exceeded its cost and suggested that vaccination be considered a macroeconomic stabilizing indicator contrary to just a health intervention. “The cumulative lifetime earnings of the lives saved through vaccination (in the working age group) tolled up to $ 21.5 billion”, highlighted the working paper. As per the Stanford University report, “the development of all these vaccines (COVAXIN & Covishield) helped fight the country the pernicious attack of the virus and not only inoculate a large number of people but also decrease the burden on the healthcare system”.

Posted By Uday India