Lock Down Diaries #4: THE LIST

The year is 2037! The alarm buzzes loudly waking Nikhil up in a start. This was the backup alarm he had set; not surprisingly, Alexa had got it wrong again! Thankfully, he still had enough time to make it to the center. I have got to get it today, he thought, if not, there may not be another chance. He jumped off the bed, with a spring in his steps, he bounced off the daily chores, changed and got down to the kitchen for his breakfast. Nikhil lived in a cozy duplex within a gated community in the transition zone. He swung open the refrigerator, the contents of which were standard fare for a single person; lots of carbonated drinks, pre-packed ready-to-consume processed food and vitamins. He popped open one of the containers and took out the instant nourishing bars and a powder sachet. The bar was an advanced version of your energy bars; entirely lab-created with the right amount of proteins and essential nutrients for a person. He munched on the bar while whipping up a shake with the powder and a glass of water. Gulping down the disgusting mix, he thought ‘I need more water, hopefully, tomorrow when the water dispensing guys come, I can bribe them for an extra litre’. There was no milk or other natural juices here, well, at least not in this zone now. He was however, comforted with the fact that his family had access and were in a better place. They were after all well settled in the safe zone. There wasn’t much choice here, the pandemic had left all crops standstill, there weren’t any farmers left to till the land. Thankfully, big pharma had come up with these amazing innovations in food tech, so now, one bar, one pill, one shake and you are ready to go for the day. It only cost a fortune to get these and you needed to be on the list!

Yes, the list!! He had to get going, this may be his one and only chance to be accepted into the safe zone. Today was the culmination of a long wait of over 3 years. Three years of various petitions, tests, all sorts of forms and bribes, he had finally made it to the list! He was due for the super-flu vaccine today. He looked around, the house was a total mess and felt lonely. He missed Nina and the kids. They had received their shots a while back; three years actually. There was a dozen such safe zones around the world and as of now only the chosen few who had received the vaccine were allowed there. The rich and the politicians got in first; the children considered the future were next. Thankfully, with his limited influence and all his money, he could get them all in. He quickly wore his protection suit, which now resembled a space suit. The suit was meant to protect self from all possible virus exposure, it had its own air filtration and circulation system built into it. He remembered the old days, when just a mask and glove could get you around. However, the virus kept coming back with more ferocity; with each new wave, the suit started getting more elaborate till this current version. He stepped out, didn’t even bother to close the door leave alone lock it; with the fear set in, who would step out to steal, plus there was nothing much to steal anyways!!

He walked the driveway towards his car, a battle-hardened Hyundai sedan. It looked quite decent for a 12-year old. The car had done more than its fair share of miles, but still carried on with a little grace; a few hiccups and starts and you were good to go. He liked his car, it had never given up on him, but he was concerned today. It had been a while since he had driven the car, the current lock-down had gone on for 2 months now and he wasn’t sure the car would start. Getting into the car with the suit on was no mean task; getting the car started was another. Long periods of being standstill had broken down most of the cars. With no service centers, most of the cars were just left standing there. It was amusing, he thought, at one point of time we were to have electric cars, flying cars and what -not, and here he was still in the old petrol-guzzling sedan. Oil was available in abundance, so who needed those innovations? Nikhil started the car; it took a few grunts and retorts to start. He drove carefully, the roads were abundantly marked with potholes and cracks. India was never known for its roads, however, the years since the first virus Covid-19 marked a steep degradation in maintenance and upkeep of roads and virtually all infrastructure. He had to drive carefully and avoid any car breakdown; he just couldn’t afford it. Missing the appointment today, could mean a setback of another 3 years, if not more.

The vaccine center was based just on the outskirts of the city; a dilapidated structure that was once a major mall. Covid-19 and the viruses that followed took a toll on these commercial establishments. Nikhil’s vaccination center was in the erstwhile supermarket area of the mall. There were no more supermarkets, just small pharmacy stores and government run stores that dispensed essentials and food packets. Back-to-back virus attacks had destroyed the food supply chain and virtually all products that were once taken for granted are now available at a premium, in limited quantity and mostly available in the ‘Safe zones’. Zones such as the one he was in i.e. the Transition zone were still in good shape, given that he received his mandated food packets and essentials once in a while. He shuddered thinking of the containment zones that housed the millions of poor and the destitute. There was frequent news of illness, almost daily instances of attack and riots for food and water. One story that has remained intact; the less fortunate continued to be the last to receive. He wound through the city, roads that were once criticized and famous for their traffic now stood still with few vehicles moving along.

As Nikhil neared the vaccination center; he noticed a huge line of cars heading the same way. This could take a while, he thought. The center still bore the name of the old establishment. No one had bothered to change it. At one time this was the talk of town, a large structure of steel and glass towering into the sky. It once housed all the major brands of the world and drew visitors not just from the city but from all around the state. This as with the other centers were now run by the Government. They were repurposed to house government buildings, containment centers, vaccination or testing center and for other such purposes.

Healthcare system had changed drastically over the years. At the start, different countries followed different approaches, a few had nationalized healthcare, some had a privatized healthcare model while others had a mix of both. In India for example, Government’s involvement is extensive; it runs an extensive network of primary and secondary care and virtually all the major tertiary health systems. Private sector is essentially involved as individual practices at the primary care level and a few players in tertiary care and specialized services. Government is also the major player in payer systems having institutionalized a basic health scheme that covered the population. Private sector was limited to the employer backed insurance and a limited paying population. Pharmaceuticals however, it was the private players that ruled the roost. However, their specialty in India was making cost-effective generic medicines.

Reminiscing over what was once; Nikhil turned into the mall and found a space to park his car. With an effort he stepped out of the car, checked his suit once again for any loose strapping and walked over to the center. There was already a crowd mulling near the center, he stepped into the lobby, introduced himself, provided his details and waited. This could take a while, he mused.

Even with the lock-down in place, health systems were functioning beyond their capacity. The care delivery model was turned upside down, with resources diverted to care for just the virus, leaving all other areas vulnerable. Private players were impacted as the virus put a stop to all elective treatments which were the revenue generating streams for them. The virus brought into focus the utter lack of investments made in the sector the prior years.

Oberoi! Mr. Nikhil Oberoi, to Counter 7 please, boomed a voice over the PA system. He woke up from his slumber and checked his watch. He had been there for close to an hour. Hearing his name called out again, he took the few quick strides to reach the counter. Again, he was asked for his identification. After reconfirming his identity, he was asked to deposit all his belongings and walk into the vaccination bay. Here he was directed to his isolation room. Stepping in, he got out of his suit and into a hospital gown. After a few minutes, a doctor stepped in wearing an even more hideous version of the suit. He took his vitals, took a sample of his blood and saliva and sent it for testing. He had to wait. The stress and wait was taking it’s toll; he drifted into a slumber again.

The first attack exposed the frailties of the system. The immediate response to the first virus was lock-down. Nations chose to put their people under lock-down with varying degrees of restrictions. Nations, states, counties down to small residential societies walled themselves in; in the hope of waiting this one out. There was fear palpable; people were vary of each other, of contact, of interaction. The assumption was walling oneself in would stop the spread and kill the infection. However, without a cure, this wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. India adopted a very rigid and strict model of lock-down, literally the whole nation had come to a standstill. The lock-down had put a complete stop on all economic and social activities. While this reduced the spread, the resulting economic recession placed untold miseries on the general population.

India has a large population that are skilled and working outside their homes in small jobs that paid by the hour or day. These were some of the hardest hit; with no employment and pay, they struggled to make ends meet. Supply chain was impacted; there were food shortages, people at the bottom of the pyramid were without jobs, money and soon food. Thousands of them in desperation started heading back home, with no transportation available, many ventured to walk home, distances over thousands of miles covering the length and breadth of the country. Thousands migrated, there were frequent news of starvation and food riots. Agriculture was another major casualty and this first attack was just the beginning. The lack of manpower and transportation resulted in that season’s crop going to waste in its entirety and then there was no one left to sow for the next season. Scores of small and medium enterprises felt the hit and either shut down for good or were barely managing to survive. If the first crisis, didn’t kill them, the subsequent ones certainly did.

After easing of the lock-down, there was no support system left, since the support folks had moved back to their hometowns. The poor felt better off to die of hunger, but at least among their own. When governments opened up their borders after the first slowdown, large scale migration occurred which again increased the number of infected. It had become a cat and mouse game of closing and opening up borders. This left many a nation bankrupt, unable to tend to their people. There was widespread misery and an overwhelming sense of gloom.

“Your test results are back”, he heard and woke up with a start. The doctor was back with a smile. You are now ready for vaccination, he said. He led him to the vaccination bay and asked him to lie on the examination table. It was a bare room devoid of any furnishings and functional to the core. The haphazard transformation from a supermarket to a vaccination center could be sensed all through. There were remnants of the earlier structure; shelves, the lobby, counter desks and so many more. He felt a chill running through from the cold examination table. They put him on a drip; the vaccine was to be fed through the solution. This was a strong vaccine; years of iterations curing the various strains had resulted in this super-vaccine that was supposed to be the cure for all strains identified so far.

He closed his eyes but couldn’t hide the smile. This was to be his ticket to his family; he would soon be with them, see his children; live again. He felt his eyes blurring; he turned his head slightly to faintly identify images of the doctors with nurses. They were concerned and he felt panic in the air. He suddenly felt tired, his hands going limp and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He could hazily see the doctor rushing towards him, the nurses pull back the IV injection. The doctor was placing some fluids on his chest, place what looked like electrodes. They were giving him a cardiac defibrillation; he felt a huge surge of electricity shoot through him, waking him up in a sweat.

Nikhil! Nikhil!!!! Are you ok? Wake up. He felt a strong pat on his cheek. He opened his eyes to find himself on his bed. Nina his wife was by his side, clearly concerned. Nikhil looked around to see he was sitting on his bed that was damp with sweat. He saw a mess in the mirror to his right, he was sweating profusely. “What happened Nikhil? Did you see a dream?” asked Nina. He had no answer, just gave her a tight squeeze and said, “I’m fine, I just need a strong coffee.” Getting off the bed, he walked down to the kitchen; put the kettle on and switched on the TV that was on the kitchen counter.

The TV switched on to the news channel. There was a breaking news ticket at the bottom of the screen “Reports indicate a fresh breakout of a new virus, that experts refer to as a more advanced version of Covid-19, for now being referred to as Covid-20. The north-west states of the country are on high alert and borders are being sealed as we report!”