India on my mind...

I don't get to watch the news very often, but I am not hearing anyone talk about this:  India's Covid rates have skyrocketed over the last couple of weeks.  My colleague told me about it / we looked up stats one day after school.  It's just insane.  Yes - the US was pretty high once.... but it was a short peak.  They've surpassed the "high" Covid rate that the US had back in January and they keep going. 

So far, in this "2nd surge" they hit 330,000 positive cases this week in one day.   And it's still on the rise.

A National Geographic article that I just read said that they relaxed their thinking that the virus was under control.  They exported a lot of their oxygen supplies and vaccinations.  The article talked about new variants too (The UK variant hit there B.1.1.7 -- but so has  an Indian variant B.1.617 and this one has 2 mutations.)  There was also a large - 3.5 million - religious event where people partook in a "holy bath" in the Gagne River.  Now - it's being looked at as a super spreader event.  

The population there is so large.  There is so much poverty. They are hosting mass cremations as they're overrun with fatalities.    This is heartbreaking.  

Here are more statistics (from earlier in the week) comparing the US and India.  Not great images - screen shots, but very telling.  

Look at the green "bar" across the bottom of the 1st screen.  This shows India's population as it relates to % of people vaccinated.    And the same green bar across the bottom of the US map.

Amazingly, India - with all of it's population and poverty, it was relatively low 'til recently.

And, here is the growing death rate.  The US is still higher, but at the rate that India is going, I imagine they'll surpass us shortly.

It's really shocking and grim.  At the beginning of this pandemic here in the US - there were mass burials in New York in long trenches.  This makes me think of that again.  Horrific.

(Sometimes I just want to document here on blogger.)  I fear - for them - this is still growing and climbing.  They just don't have the resources there en masse like we do.  And their population is enormous.  And in many cases, the living conditions are beyond awful.  

The Earth is a collection of ecosystems.  Viruses, human population, natural disasters / storms and the like certainly define these ecosytems across the world.  

In many places - because of Covid - there will be a noticeable change .  

I believe this is just the beginning of a MAJOR change of the face of India.