What’s happening on the vaccination front?

Good morning!

Amid the second COVID-19 wave, the Indian government has asked state governments to prioritise vaccinating those due for the second dose. 

For this, it has asked states and UTs to reserve at least 70 percent of the shots supplied from the central pool for the purpose. In fact, it has also urged them to minimise wastage of vaccine doses, the health ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government will procure two crores of COVID-19 vaccine doses through a global tender to meet the increased demand and to facilitate vaccination of the age group of 18-44 years, Deputy Chief Minister and state COVID Task Force Head C N Ashwath Narayan said.

MakeMyTrip Foundation announced the launch of CoviRide to help individuals, organisations seek and provide transport-related assistance, including emergency commute, ambulance services for COVID-19, ride to vaccination centres, oxygen centres, to and from the hospital, and for medical equipment transfer such as oxygen cylinder, concentrator, and medicines, among others. 

In fact, Bharat Biotech announced that the COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin was recommended by an expert panel for Phase II/III clinical trials on those aged between two to 18 years. The trial will take place in 525 subjects at various sites, including AIIMS, Delhi, AIIMS, Patna, and Meditrina Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur.

Read about how the Indian startup ecosystem is battling the second wave of COVID-19 here.

Here are some useful tools and links that can help you find the nearest vaccine centres in real-time.

The Interview

Founded in 2018 by the David Clark Cause and IBM, Call for Code Global Challenge is the largest challenge of its kind. The challenge asks for innovators and developers from around the world to come up with creative, practical, and high-quality applications, which are based on one or more of IBM cloud services. 

During a fireside chat, Priya Mallya, Hybrid Cloud Build Team and Developer Advocacy Leader, Asia Pacific at IBM spoke about the challenge, the power of technology for social good, and how startups can apply this year. 

Editor’s Pick: 100X Entrepreneur Podcast

Entrepreneur Ranjeet Pratap Singh says he has always been a voracious reader and wanted to read Hindi content. However, he realised that Hindi content was not available due to the lack of access. 

To bridge the gap between what was being written in vernacular languages and what people wanted to read, he launched Pratilipi, a storytelling platform that primarily focuses on Indian languages and allows people to share their stories in different formats, languages, devices, geographies, etc. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

This Aligarh startup is combating oxygen shortage with its indigenous oxygen concentrator 

Moved by the ongoing oxygen crisis brought on by the second wave of COVID-19 in India, a group of young techies and entrepreneurs from Aligarh decided to do their bit to help.

A team from emerging technology company Engineering & Environmental Solutions (E&E Solutions) designed their very own oxygen concentrator, and indigenously developed it at their production facility at Aligarh. Read more.

News & Updates

• OYO has announced a 4-day week for the month of May and 'no reasons asked' infinite paid leaves for its employees till July. Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal said in an email that the mid-week breather will help people cope with their mental well-being amid COVID-19.

• Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin was recommended by an expert panel for phase II/III clinical trial on those aged between two to 18 years. The trial will take place on 525 subjects at AIIMS, Delhi; AIIMS, Patna; and Meditrina Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur.

• SEEDS said it is procuring and disbursing over 1,000 oxygen concentrators, 2,000 pulse oximeters, and 20 oxygen generators in the Delhi-NCR region and Uttarakhand. It will also procure 6,000 face masks, 5,000 PPE kits, 300 beds, 200 patients care blankets, etc.

• Sewa International said that it has spent over $6 million to procure lifesaving equipment in the last two weeks as part of its 'Help India Defeat COVID-19' campaign. The equipment included 260 oxygen concentrators, 1,000 oximeters, and nine Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure machines.

• LG Electronics pledged $5.5 million (around Rs 40.38 crore) to fight against the second wave of the pandemic in India. The consumer electronics major will set up medical infrastructure and will help 10 makeshift hospitals across India.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

"Please take a mid-week breather. Take the time to finish chores, spend time with your children, care for your loved ones, and volunteer for crisis causes that matter to you."

— Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and Group CEO, OYO

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