Letters to the editor dated January 18, 2020

The nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive launched on January 16 has put the country in vaccination mode and marked a turning point in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. In this pandemic time the vaccines are the best thing to happen to us.

It is true that vaccination is yet to pick up pace in many parts of the country. While the plan is to vaccinate 100 persons in each centre each day it may not always be possible to reach the set target. With time, the picture will become less hazy and brighter. People should have confidence in the vaccines to shed inhibitions and show up at the vaccination sessions. Apart from logistics and practicalities, people need to have trust in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and realize the importance of vaccination to make the drive a success.

The country’s top political executives could consider taking the jab to inspire confidence, as was done by Joe Biden and many other world leaders.

The mass vaccination campaign is a real marathon; it is not amenable to being fast-tracked; it will be a long drawn-out process. We can find comfort in the knowledge that those who wait longer for the jab are less prone to severe disease. There is scientific consensus that nearly 70 per cent of the population need to be vaccinated to achieve population immunity. Vaccinating the bulk of the population is a Herculean task, the accomplishment of which largely hinges on public cooperation.0

Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

The news reports, pointing to a discernible hesitancy even among the frontline health workers towards Covid 19 vaccination in several parts of the country is a worrying development. There is still a long way to go in building public trust in the vaccination exercise. Attempts to politicise the ongoing mammoth vaccination drive against Covid- 10 deserves to be decried.

However the suggestion to let the legislators and parliamentarians take the first jab to inspire confidence and build public trust must be given serious consideration by the government without any delay.

Concerted efforts towards building public confidence in vaccines brooks no delay.

Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

With reference to the article ‘Budget in the time of Covid pandemic’, the economy which was already sluggish was made worse by the Covid crisis.

Economic recovery must be led by public investment as the series of rate cuts by RBI has failed to lift credit offtake. Fiscal deficit should not even come for the discussion while preparing this year’s budget. It is a ‘now or never’ kind of moment for this government. Healthcare, Education and Infrastructure are three core sectors which need the biggest attention from the Finance Minister with a clearly defined roadmap.

Noida

The Trade Receivables & Discounting System (TreD) is a much needed lubricant that can help smoothen the collections cycle for MSMEs.

For this to be successful, buyers need to be incentivised to use this system. This will encourage more buyers to on-board into the TreD platform.

Further, the use of trade credit insurance with the support of robust technical infrastructure can help provide assurance that the payments made through this system are safe.

However, too much emphasis on using this system to build a database for GST & Direct Tax recoveries may create an impression that this is yet another surveillance tool by the tax agencies.

Chennai

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