Every adversity carries a seed of opportunity

The cost of medicines is going to increase in India from April 1. The prices of more than 800 essential medicines are likely to increase by more than 10%. These include painkillers, antiviral drugs as well as antibiotics. The raw material which is most needed in the production of medicines is called Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (API). Earlier 90% of the API was procured from China and other nations. In this way we were heavily dependent on the Dragon for the manufacture of medicines. But after the tussle with the Chinese army in the Galvan Valley of eastern Ladakh, India feared that the supply of essential raw materials from China could be disrupted in the event of escalating tension, so the country started taking steps towards becoming self-reliant. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya says that out of 53 types of raw materials needed for the production of medicines, 35 APIs are being developed now in India, so that the country does not have to depend on China. It is rightly said that behind every adversity there is a seed of opportunity.
 
When the whole world was suffering from pandemic, China had adopted a zero Covid policy, under which a lockdown was imposed in the entire city if a single person was found infected. At that time, China thought that it had won the war, but now it is getting the punishment. In fact, due to the initial restrictions, sufficient immunity could not be developed among the Chinese. That is the reason China is finding it difficult to handle the situation now. However, 88% of the population has gotten double doses of the vaccine China has to impose lockdown in all its 31 provinces. The situation in cities like Shanghai is such that no one is allowed to move out from the houses. Those who break this rule are being fined 15 thousand rupees or more. In such a situation, to ensure the supply of household items, necessary items are being delivered door to door by the government.
 
More than 20,000 bank employees in Shanghai are sleeping in their offices. They are given food but are not allowed to go home. This has been done so that the banking system of the country remains intact. Coronavirus is spreading more rapidly in China than in the last two years, where along with Omicron, some cases of Delta variant are also being found. However, the number of patients infected with Omicron is high. In China, an average of 42% increase was recorded in Covid  cases last week. The top 10 countries in the world that have recently seen a surge in cases of Covid include the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. However, Covid is not expected to increase in the next few months in India. The reason for this is that in our country, 95% of the population above the age of 15 years has received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 80% of the people have received both doses. Therefore, there has been a decline in new cases of Covid in India, where the vaccine is administered to children in the age group of 12 to 15 years. A Hyderabad-based company, Biological E is producing this Corbevax vaccine.

(Writer is a senior journalist & columnist)