HECTOR CUEVA JACOME was one of the 60 diplomats who went to Hyderabad on a ministry of external affairs (MEA) excursion to see India’s vaccine production facilities last December. Jacome, the ambassador of Ecuador to India, and his wife, Toya Cardenas, then signed up to participate in the clinical trials of Covaxin, India’s first indigenous vaccine for Covid-19, by Bharat Biotech. The couple took the jab earlier in January and are now waiting for their second shot on February 2.
“We are fine. No [adverse] reactions, no side effects,” he says. Jacome’s participation in the trial goes a long way in removing apprehensions around the safety of the vaccine. “It was not a decision I took on the spur of the moment,” says Jacome. “I have been in India for eight years. More than a diplomat, I am a man of science. I trust India when it comes to medicines and vaccines.”
Ecuador may be a small country in South America with a population of just 1.74 crore, a mere fraction of New Delhi’s. However, Jacome’s assertion of faith in India’s pharma sector is a welcome one for South Block’s new diplomatic outreach, Vaccine Maitri. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s “thank you” to India, in which he depicted Lord Hanuman flying over the seas, carrying the new sanjeevani—the vaccine—was another eyeball-grabbing endorsement aimed at, and will be noticed by, global audiences. It also ironed out creases caused by Brazil seeking the vaccine before India was ready to sell.
Esta historia es de la edición February 07, 2021 de THE WEEK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 07, 2021 de THE WEEK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Trump And The Crisis Of Liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
