Politics Around COVID Vaccine Access in Context of Covid-19 Prevalence and Mortality

Through a numerical analysis of the COVID-19 prevalance, mortality and vaccination rates among different states and union territories of India, as well as by taking up the specific example of Lakshadweep, RAVI DUGGAL demonstrates that the union government's roll out of vaccines to states and union territories is driven by political considerations, rather than legitimate health policy ones.

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THAT there is politics in decision making around COVID is best demonstrated with the case of Lakshadweep, is a tiny Union Territory of just about 70,000 people located in the Arabian Sea, off the Kerala Coast.

How Lakshadweep went from being COVID free to a COVID crisis

Lakshadweep, until January 18, 2021, did not have a single recorded case of COVID because of its strong regulatory framework of travel restrictions and quarantine procedures. In December 2020, its Administrator Dineshwar Sharma passed away, and the charge was handed over to the Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Praful Khoda Patel.

The latter opened up access to the island, and in a month's time, the first COVID-19 case was reported on Jan 18, 2021, quickly followed by 13 primary contacts of this first case. The spread has been rapid and by July 2, the total recorded COVID cases in Lakshadweep add up to 9,808, with 40 recorded fatalities. This makes for a prevalence rate of 13.92 percent, which is more than six times the national average, and mortality of 0.69 per 1,000, which is nearly 2.5 times the national average (see Table and Graph below).