‘Achieving universal vaccination is the only long-term solution to the pandemic’ – 30 quotes from India’s COVID-19 struggle

Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week. This special series of compilations focuses on India’s COVID-19 struggle (see last week’s post here). Share these quotes and excerpts with your networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

Post-pandemic, the national diabetic population of over 12 crore people is searching for healthier options in an aggressive fashion. - Sachin Sahni, Keeros

Skilled-based careers such as health IT professionals that will develop the working and operations of the telemedicine network are on the rise. - Munira Loliwala, TeamLease Digital

This will be an opportunity for governments, policymakers, and even the general population to pay more attention to mental health and to direct more resources in that direction. - Elise Paul

What we need is a system that can kill the virus not only on surfaces but also in the air. - Nandini Bhalla, UV Rakshak

Failing to ensure wider access to COVID-19 vaccines could undermine the global economic and trade recovery. - WTO

Achieving universal vaccination at the earliest, is the only long-term solution to the COVID-19 pandemic and its evolving variants. - Sandeep Chachra, ActionAid India

As per the results of the study conducted by NCAER, due to the overall economic slowdown during 2020-21, the tourism economy or tourism direct gross value added (TDGVA) saw a fall of 42.8 percent in Q1; 15.5 percent in Q2 and a fall of 1.1 percent in Q3. - Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy

Growth prospects in India have been downgraded following the severe second COVID wave during March-May and expected slow recovery in confidence from that setback. - IMF

During the pandemic, skilled musicians and trained artists did not have a way to monetise their talent. - Lakshminarayana Yeluri, Muzigal

COVID-19’s exposé of the vulnerability of the meat and dairy industry has highlighted the link between food and health and encouraged a revaluation of consumer diets. - Siddharth Kothari, Om Kothari Group

Today, even schools do not allow junk food, and parents are constantly looking at what to pack for recess or even at home during the pandemic. - Hima Bindu, Timios

With the pandemic increasing focus on a healthy lifestyle and nutrition, the health food segment in India is bubbling up delightfully. - Mohammad Patel, MYFITNESS

Even if the situation returns to normalcy, cloud kitchens will not be affected. Everyone is getting used to the concept of ordering in and eating at home with their family and friends in their comfort zone. - Bhupender Nath, VDeliver

Digital is on fire thanks to the pandemic. - Rajan Navani, JetSynthesys

It’s no secret that the future of business and scale is SaaS driven, more so in the post-pandemic landscape. - Venkatesh Peddi, Chiratae Ventures

We are in a midst of an edtech revolution, and the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology in education overnight. - Azmal Jaleel, Pearl Investment

Post-COVID-19, it is no longer just an option but a necessity for anyone looking to build a course and reach out to its target segment, to be present online and be able to have the right tools to scale. - Abhishek Agarwal, Rockstud Capital

The pandemic accelerated the shift to an online mode and led to huge growth for the edtech segment. - Vamsi Krishna, Vedantu

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While automobile is the largest retail category, it is the least penetrated online. In a post-pandemic world, we expect automobile buying and selling to shift online rapidly. - Sandeep Aggarwal, Droom

With the onset of COVID, the global SCM industry is ripe for modernisation. - Raj Pai, GEF Capital Partners

This [pandemic] was the first time ever when logistics companies collaborated irrespective of their fields to ensure that business continuity and medical essentials were made available to people. - Aakanksha Bhargava, PMR

COVID times gave more push to digital discovery and the need for an alternative approach to car care and servicing. - Rishab Malik, Droom

Security incidents became more costly and harder to contain due to drastic operational shifts during the pandemic, with costs rising 10 percent compared to the prior year. - IBM report

With more and more companies compelled to improve their work-from-home capabilities, increased investments in cloud-based systems now form a critical aspect of their strategy and goals. - Niraj Ranjan Rout, Hiver

With distributed workforces blurring the boundaries and employees adopting more fluid schedules, there is an urgent need to focus on output and not the hours. - Anurag Varma, Loopin

Corporates are also likely to realign their investment in fixed real estate assets, therefore, it is estimated that substantial growth in the use of leasing assets will emerge as a demand in the future. - Rahul Sarin, Skootr FinSave

It is to be remembered that businesses that remain resilient and waver through this crisis today, will be the frontrunners of tomorrow. - Vivek Bindra, Bada Business

Small businesses are the hidden heroes of our food systems, managing at least half of our food economies and keeping food on our plates throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. - Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy of the UN

A certain amount of vulnerability is always especially crucial for all leaders, but particularly during a pandemic - to be kind to yourself and your team. - Wendy Johnstone, Zendesk

If there has to be one takeaway from the experiences of the past year, it is that everyone should anticipate and prepare for the worst situations in life. - Anshu Sharma

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).