India and smug mediocrity

Indian democracy is equating excellence with elitism

The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, Covishield, and the one developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International, Covaxin, in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology have been approved by Indian government authorities.

The Serum Institute of India in Pune and Bharat Biotech have already produced millions of doses of the Covishield and Covaxin vaccines, respectively. Curiously, the two vaccines are being spoken about in the same breath in government pronouncements. For example, while the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been reported to have an efficacy of around 62 per cent, similar claims cannot be made about Bharat Biotech's