Putting #IndiaFirst: India Positive Citizen Perspectives, by Savitha Rao: Book Review

“Building a great Nation, one India Positive action at a time” and “Putting #IndiaFirst”: this is the philosophy behind Savitha Rao’s self-published book – a compilation of short life histories and thoughts of well-known and not-so-well-known inspirational people in India from various walks of life. Each of these esteemed persons brings in their unique perspective […]

Six “COVID control” policies that should be strongly opposed

Since the start of the COVID pandemic, there have been several policies that were used early on, and that make very little sense now that much more information is available about viral transmission. But they continue to be used by various state governments in varying degrees. This article will call out some obvious ones that […]

Booster dose for COVID vaccination: Needed or Not?

It is well known that two doses of COVID vaccination – whether it is Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Covishield or Covaxin – offer excellent protection against moderate and severe COVID (95-97%) but not against mild and asymptomatic disease (28%). Booster doses have been a matter of speculation since the early days of COVID vaccination when it was […]

“Excess Mortality” due to COVID: A reality check

It has long been speculated that the actual mortality due to COVID pandemic is much higher than official numbers, not only in India but in several other countries. New York Governor Andre Cuomo has been caught repeatedly fudging mortality data. The UK government too was accused of under-reporting COVID deaths in the first wave of […]

Project Sharan: An initiative to support education of COVID orphans

The ongoing COVID pandemic has devastated several thousands of families. It is estimated that over 10,000 families have lost one parent and over 1,000 children have lost both parents in the second wave alone. Through our non-profit PEHL Services, we aim to support the education of a hundred children from lower socioeconomic strata who have […]

AstraZeneca / Covishield vs Delta Variant, and Timing of 2nd dose of vaccine

The delta variant of SARS-COV2 is estimated to be 30-100% more transmissible than other prevalent variants and cause more severe infections than the original alpha-variant. At last count, it has spread to 80 countries and has rapidly become the dominant strain in several countries such as India and UK. Some concerns were expressed that the […]

Airborne Transmission and Household Ventilation: An Informed Discussion Needed

A lot has been said about the need for good ventilation for prevention of COVID. Undoubtedly, good ventilation is vital for preventing build-up of high levels of SARS-COV2 in crowded / public places. Weddings have acted as super-spreader events as hundreds of people were cooped up indoors together for several hours, often in poorly ventilated […]

“Mumbai Model” of COVID management: Legit or overhyped?

Let me make it clear at the outset that I greatly appreciate the tireless hard work and extreme risk that ground workers and administrative officials of the Brihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika (BMC)) have undergone during this pandemic. This article is an attempt at a genuine critique of the so-called “Mumbai Model” insofar as its hits and misses […]