Hindi English Translation || Editorial || A spike: On records and COVID-19 vaccination coverage

A spike: On records and COVID-19 vaccination coverage

India must prioritise vaccines to States and districts that are at greatest infection risk

India on September 17 administered (प्रशासन करना, लागू करना) a record 2.5 crore vaccine (a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease) shots (injection, inoculation (of a vaccine/drug)), which an ebullient (cheerful, joyful, exhilarated, euphoric, elated) Health Ministry said was the equivalent of the populations of the whole of Australia, two-thirds of Canada and five times that of New Zealand. The only other comparison would be China’s pace of vaccination (टीकाकरण) — 2.47 crore shots on a single day. Thus, 2.5 crore means 62% Indian adults have now got at least one dose and one in five fully inoculated (to inject/introduce a vaccine into the body of someone to produce immunity to a particular disease; immunize, vaccinate). Friday’s drive (campaign, movement, effort, push) was part of a concerted (ठोस, अनुकूल, आयोजित) push (धकेलना, प्रयास) by BJP-ruled States to boost vaccination numbers as a birthday gift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But to encourage a behavioural nudge when supply is abundant (plentiful, copious, ample) and demand is not commensurate (अनुरूप, समकक्ष, समान) — as in the U.S. — and have a marked (noticeable, pronounced, distinct, obvious, palpable) supply shortage even as (at the same time that, while, during the time that) vaccine production continues — as in India — are two different things. Bharat Biotech was supposed to be supplying 6-7 crore doses a month from July-August and 10 crore doses a month from September, according to a Department of Biotechnology statement in April. This would mean at least 52 crore doses from July-December, of which 40 crore is to be supplied from September-December. Since the vaccination drive began, only nine crore doses of Covaxin (India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate (COVAXIN) developed by a Hyderabad-based company (Bharat Biotech) in collaboration with the ICMR (The Indian Council of Medical Research)) have been administered as of last week — at least three crore short (in short supply, insufficient, deficient, inadequate). Several cabinet Ministers, in summer, had boasted (pride oneself on, congratulate oneself; exaggerate, overstate, talk big, brag, show off) that India would inoculate its adult population (about 94 crore) by the year end. This will require over 185 crore doses, or close to one crore inoculations (vaccination, injection, immunization; jab, shot) a day; India has now crossed the 80 crore mark. Before the birthday drive, India’s most recent seven-day average was 0.6-0.7 crore. Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, which saw among the highest vaccination spikes (a sharp rise/increase of something) on September 17, delivered 6-10 times their previous seven-day average.

India is once again on a downswing (downturn, decline) as far as (जहां तक, इस हद तक कि) daily coronavirus (a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death) numbers go, but at close to 30,000 cases a day is nowhere near (off target, inaccurate, off course) the all-time low of nearly 10,000 daily cases in February which preceded (come/go before, go in advance of, lead up to) the catastrophic (आपत्तिजनक, विनाशकारी) second wave. The globally most prevalent (प्रचलित, व्यापक, सर्वव्यापी) Delta variant (प्रकार, असंगति) may have already washed over large swathes of India, but waning (कम होना) immunity (प्रतिरोधक क्षमता, रोग प्रतिरोधक शक्ति) and the emergence of variants capable of immune escape (it occurs when the immune system of a host, especially of a human being, is unable to respond to an infectious agent, or in other words that the host’s immune system is no longer able to recognize and eliminate a pathogen such as a virus) are thriving (फलना, जोर से बढ़ना) too. With educational institutions set to open in a big way (एक बड़े पैमाने पर, एक हद तक।) during the winter and crores of unvaccinated (not vaccinated to provide immunity against a disease) children vulnerable (चपेट में, आसानी से प्रभावित, जोखिम में पड़ने की संभावना), the imperative (अनिवार्यता, आदेशक, आवश्यक शर्त) should be to boost daily supplies. India is lucky that there is so far no discernible (visible, noticeable, recognizable, identifiable) vaccine scepticism (doubt, suspicion/mistrust, wariness, lack of conviction) and hesitancy (a reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated or to have one’s children vaccinated; reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines) and it has only to really bother with producing and delivering the jab painlessly. Instead of positioning vaccine drives as opportunities to set vacuous (empty-headed, unintelligent, without thought, brainless, stupid) records, the Centre must prioritise vaccines to States and districts that are at greatest infection risk and follow up with vaccine makers to speed up (expedite, accelerate, step up) and make good (succeed, do well, get ahead) on their commitments.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.vaccination (noun)

Hindi Meaning - टीकाकरण
English Meaning - treatment with a vaccine to protect against a particular disease; immunization.

2.administer (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रशासन करना, लागू करना
English Meaning - dispense, provide, give, apply (a drug/vaccine).

3.concerted (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - ठोस, अनुकूल, आयोजित
English Meaning - involving a lot of people coming together & doing something with great effort; strenuous, vigorous, energetic, determined, active, intense; coordinated, collaborative, collective, combined, joint.

4.push (noun)

Hindi Meaning - धकेलना, प्रयास
English Meaning - effort, initiative, drive.

5.commensurate (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनुरूप, समकक्ष, समान
English Meaning - equivalent, equal, corresponding, comparable, proportionate, proportional; consistent with, according to.

6.as far as (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - जहां तक, इस हद तक कि
English Meaning - to the extent that.

7.catastrophic (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आपत्तिजनक, विनाशकारी
English Meaning - destructive, ruinous, disastrous.

8.prevalent (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - प्रचलित, व्यापक, सर्वव्यापी
English Meaning - widespread, ubiquitous, common, general.

9.variant (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रकार, असंगति
English Meaning - different or form or version or mutant of something (virus).

10.wane (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कम होना
English Meaning - decrease, decline, diminish/dwindle gradually.

11.immunity (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतिरोधक क्षमता, रोग प्रतिरोधक शक्ति
English Meaning - the body’s defense against infections; protection, resistance.

12.thrive (verb)

Hindi Meaning - फलना, जोर से बढ़ना
English Meaning - grow vigorously.

13.in a big way (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - एक बड़े पैमाने पर, एक हद तक।
English Meaning - to a great extent.

14.vulnerable (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - चपेट में, आसानी से प्रभावित, जोखिम में पड़ने की संभावना
English Meaning - relating to a weak person who is in need of special care/support/protection; ill-protected, easily affected by, prone to, at risk of.

15.imperative (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनिवार्यता, आदेशक, आवश्यक शर्त
English Meaning - necessary condition, precondition, essential requirement.

16.spike (noun)

English Meaning - a sharp rise/increase of something.

17.vaccine (noun)

English Meaning - a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease.

18.shot (noun)

English Meaning - injection, inoculation (of a vaccine/drug). 

19.ebullient (adjective)

English Meaning - cheerful, joyful, exhilarated, euphoric, elated.

20.inoculate (verb)

English Meaning - to inject/introduce a vaccine into the body of someone to produce immunity to a particular disease; immunize, vaccinate.

21.drive (noun)

English Meaning - campaign, movement, effort, push.

22.nudge (noun)

English Meaning - push, reminder, encouragement, prompting.

23.behavioural nudge (noun)

English Meaning - (in public health) it refers to efforts put in place to influence people’s personal habits and attitudes, to prevent disease.

24.abundant (adjective)

English Meaning - plentiful, copious, ample.

25.marked (adjective)

English Meaning - noticeable, pronounced, distinct, obvious, palpable.

26.even as (phrase)

English Meaning - at the same time that, while, during the time that.

27.Covaxin (noun)

English Meaning - India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate (COVAXIN) developed by a Hyderabad-based company (Bharat Biotech) in collaboration with the ICMR (The Indian Council of Medical Research).

28.mean (verb)

English Meaning - suggest, signify, convey, indicate.

29.short (adjective)

English Meaning - in short supply, insufficient, deficient, inadequate.

30.boast (verb)

English Meaning - pride oneself on, congratulate oneself; exaggerate, overstate, talk big, brag, show off.

31.inoculation (noun)

English Meaning - vaccination, injection, immunization; jab, shot.

32.downswing (noun)

English Meaning - downturn, decline.

33.as far as something goes (phrase)

English Meaning - with regard to, concerning, about.

34.coronavirus (CoV) (noun)

English Meaning - a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.

35.nowhere near (phrase)

English Meaning - off target, inaccurate, off course.

36.precede (verb)

English Meaning - come/go before, go in advance of, lead up to.

37.delta variant/B.1.617.2 (noun)

English Meaning - Formally known as AY.2 or B.1.617.2, it’s a variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India, is renamed as the ‘Delta variant’ by the World Health Organization (WHO) and this variant is reclassified as Variant of Concern (VOC). The B.1.617.1 strain has been reclassified to a Variant of Interest (VOI) and labelled variant “Kappa”.

38.wash over (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - occur, happen, take place; affect (all around).

39.swathe (noun)

English Meaning - a wide area of something.

40.immune escape/evasion (noun)

English Meaning - it occurs when the immune system of a host, especially of a human being, is unable to respond to an infectious agent, or in other words that the host’s immune system is no longer able to recognize and eliminate a pathogen such as a virus. 

41.set (adjective)

English Meaning - ready, prepared.

42.unvaccinated (adjective)

English Meaning - not vaccinated to provide immunity against a disease.

43.the unvaccinated (noun)

English Meaning - the people who are not vaccinated.

44.so far (phrase)

English Meaning - until now, up to the present, up to this point.

45.discernible (adjective)

English Meaning - visible, noticeable, recognizable, identifiable.

46.scepticism (noun)

English Meaning - doubt, suspicion/mistrust, wariness, lack of conviction.

47.hesitancy (noun)

English Meaning - reluctance, unwillingness, disinclination.

48.vaccine hesitancy (noun)

English Meaning - a reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated or to have one’s children vaccinated; reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines.

49.jab (noun)

English Meaning - vaccination, injection, inoculation, immunization.

50.vacuous (adjective)

English Meaning - empty-headed, unintelligent, without thought, brainless, stupid.

51.follow up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - continue/carry on something further.

52.speed up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - expedite, accelerate, step up.

53.make good (phrase)

English Meaning - succeed, do well, get ahead.