“There aren’t enough vaccines to go around.” India is now seeing extremely high coronavirus case counts as other countries move closer to vaccinating a large swath of their populations. One key difference? Countries like the U.S. purchased doses ahead of production, speeding up the process. Former FDA associate commissioner Peter Pitts explains.
A Massachusetts organization is helping to raise money and awareness for the people of India as the country continues to see record levels of COVID-19 cases.
"Donate whatever little you can, and together every drop counts, every dollar counts, and as we pull ourselves together, we can help someone in need at this time," said Sanjay Gowda of the India Association of Greater Boston.
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India's second wave of COVID-19 infections faces no signs of slowing down as the country's overwhelmed health care system faces supply shortages for hospital beds, oxygen, medicines and vaccines.
Gowda has family in India -- he said his mother just came down with COVID symptoms and his friend just died of complications from the virus. He said the situation is dire and the country desperately needs medical supplies.
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The World Health Organization said last week that one in every three new coronavirus cases globally is being reported in India.
Cases in the second wave started rising in February, when India reported an average of about 10,000 infections a day. But the situation progressively worsened in April, ending the month by repeatedly setting new global records for daily cases. India kicked off May by reporting more than 400,000 new cases.
The India Association of Greater Boston is holding a virtual 5k walk and run next weekend, Gowda said, with donations benefitting the people of India.
If you'd like to donate, you can do so through their website at iagb.org.
CNBC contributed to this report.
