Now the third wave

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Now the third wave

As the country especially Maharashtra is reliving itself very strict lockdown as the severe second wave of Corona virus-infected disease is receding rapidly, the danger is still ahead and it is more grave. The third wave of Coronavirus is on the horizon and the state machinery is said to be gearing up to cope with it. Covid-19 has already exposed the pathetic condition of our health system, the news that, the third wave will be more severe should shatter everybody in Maharashtra. Maharashtra has bore the maximum brunt of the human and economic loss caused by the earlier two waves. There are no industries working, no jobs and no industrial production. So, the news of the third wave is extremely disappointing for the just rising economy. In the third wave, it is very clear that the state again will go under lockdown, making further damage to people’s job losses and businesses. Now, the lockdown will be intolerable for lakhs of people in Maharashtra as people have lost all their savings in two waves. When we talk about Maharashtra, we only think about Mumbai and its loss due to Corona wave. But, there is Maharashtra outside Mumbai and it is suffering more than the capital. Both the government's state and centre have failed to drag out the state from the disastrous situation. So, it is futile to keep any hope from the administration. The only solution is fastest vaccination which can bring down the number of patients. Now, centre has decided to provide vaccines free of cost to states. The incapability of states to procure vaccine from private producers has already been exposed to the world. So, the centre has taken initiative which it should have done much earlier. It would have saved many precious lives. From 21st June, the  vaccination for Covid-19 will start in countrywide for all people aged between eighteen to forty five. This is a very big hope for entire state people but some doubts are also there. Whether the vaccines will be provided in the required quantity and private hospitals also are taking part in this vaccination drive. So, what charges will they take from the patients? Whether they will charge one hundred and forty rupees as prime minister Modi announced in his national address or charge more is the basic doubt. Who will keep watch on private hospitals charging of vaccine? If the vaccination drive is implemented with full force and speed, we can beat third wave is the reality. During the first wave, there was no vaccine and so we had to helplessly watch the deaths of our near and dear ones. During the second wave, though there was a vaccine, we lost thousands of people gasping for oxygen and the inadequate supply of vaccines. Now, in the third wave, we should be much prepared to cope with the menace as we know many things about the dangerous mutants of the virus. With the Delta Plus variant of Coronavirus stoking the third wave, Maharashtra can once again hit by the lockdown. These frequent lockdowns have damaged the reputation of Maharashtra as a pragmatic state and number one in income. During the third wave, the possibility of reintroducing lockdown cannot be denied. How much dangerous the third wave can be? Statistics tell that, the number of active patients could reach up to eight lakh, while 10 per cent out of them could be children. These are alarming statistics and government seems to be helpless. The more dangerous fact of the Delta variant is that its speed of spreading is double the rate. This is very critical and it will give sleepless nights to the administration. Nobody knows how severe this wave will be, but we can beat it with the weapon of vaccination.