New Year's priorities

A New Year brings both hopes and challenges. Fresh spike in COVID-19 cases in India, triggered both by the Delta and the Omicron variant, is going to keep the Central and state governments on toes. The COVID-19 vaccination programme for children aged 15-18 years, on the other hand, has brought new hopes of resilience against the pandemic. Vaccination programme for children is critical to address the problem of learning loss due to suspension of classes on account of COVID spike. The Union Health Ministry has announced that Bharat Biotech's Covaxin will be the only vaccine to be administered to teenagers in this age group from Monday. Schools will be turned into COVID- vaccination centres and this is going to keep teachers, students and parents busy in the vaccination programme for children in the New Year. Children below 15 years will continue to be unprotected which will require schools and parents to pay special attention for their protection from virus infection.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has clarified that COVID vaccines are primarily disease modifying not infection preventing and precautionary dose is to mitigate the severity of infection, hospitalisation, and death. ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava has explained that multiple exposure to the virus antigen has happened whether through the vaccine, the infection or through contact and the durability of this immunity also persists for upto 9 months. India having administered 90% of adult population with first dose and 63.5 % with both the doses, administering second dose to remaining 36.5 % of adult population is expected to gain momentum in the initial months of the New Year. The issue of booster doses is expected to gain momentum as adult population with both doses get saturated.Starting from January 10, healthcare and frontline workers will be administered a 'precaution dose' while elders aged 60 years and comorbidities will also have the option to get this booster dose. States carrying out the vaccination dive for second doses of adults and children vaccination on a faster pace will be able to reap dividend of less disruption in economic activities as majority of the population will be protected against severity of infection and hospitalisations. Intermittent disruptions in the first half of the New Year are predictable as the desired level of protection is yet to be achieved for the entire population. Assembly elections due in five states- Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur- brings additional challenges of COVID management in the New Year. The Election Commission (EC) has said that all political parties want elections to be held on time with strict adherence to COVID safety protocols. If the elections are held amid a fresh surge in infections, the onus to enforce COVID-safety protocols during electioneering will lie on the Commission. Lessons must be learnt from assembly elections in West Bengal last year during the peak of second wave when the EC failed miserably to take any action on the political parties for violating COVID-safety protocols during campaigning. For Assam and other North-eastern states, prevention of COVID-19 disruptions will provide the elbow room to focus on some unfinished agenda of last year. Sincere initiatives to settle boundary disputes between Assam and neighbouring states started amidst violent conflict on Assam-Mizoram boundary. The challenge will to be maintain peace status quo along disputed stretches of inter-state boundary so that long pending disputes can be settled across the table. States focusing on well-being of people living on both sides of inter-state boundaries can end the deadlock over insistence on Constitutional and historical boundaries. It is hoped that that the states will engage with renewed spirit of softening the inter-state boundaries to facilitate seamless trade, travel, and transport. Turning the entire region as a single economic zone is important to prepare it for seamless trade and travel in the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) sub-region and for improving export preparedness of the region. Extension of 'Disturbed Area' tag and enforcement of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Nagaland for another six months by the Central Government despite opposition to the act growing in Naga-inhabited areas is going to keep the political pot boiling. With the Nagaland Assembly also seeking repeal of the AFSPA, the protest is poised to grow and cast a shadow over the Naga peace talks. Convening the "ice breaking" meeting of the negotiators of the Central Government and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-MUivah) and delivering justice to families of 14 civilians killed in a botched counter insurgency operation in Nagaland is going to top the chart of New Year challenges for the government at the Centre and in the State. Challenges are huge but hopes of better management of COVID-19 have brightened. There is, however, no room for any complacency and guards against COVID-19 must not be lowered.