India’s vaccine engine runs into glitches
India’s rollout of coronavirus vaccines, one of the largest in the world, has been hampered by technical glitches in a cellphone application, leaving the country far behind its vaccination targets in the first days of the campaign.
State officials complained about issues with a digital platform called the Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN), which is used by vaccine providers and recipients to monitor progress. Vaccine recipients must register through the app.
The software was overwhelmed and did not work at many vaccination sites when the campaign started on Saturday. India plans to vaccinate 1.3 billion people as it battles the second highest case number and third highest death toll in the world.
Details: On the first day, around 300,000 health care workers should be vaccinated. The actual number was about 207,000. On Sunday the number fell to 17,072.
China’s economy is growing, but there are weak spots
With most nations around the world grappling with new lockdowns and layoffs during the pandemic, only one major economy has recovered after getting most of the coronavirus under control: China.
The economy grew 2.3 percent last year, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. In contrast, the US, Japan, and many nations in Europe are expected to see a sharp drop in production. Exports and infrastructure fueled growth.
Despite the good news for China, growth numbers were still the lowest in 40 years. And there are weaknesses, such as the lack of jobs for young university graduates with little experience. Hotels and restaurants in the inland provinces have not fully recovered as they have in the big cities.
Obstacles: So much of China’s success over the past year was due to its ability to eradicate the coronavirus – but new outbreaks are calling that resilience into question. Authorities are starting to reintroduce a variety of health checks that are deterring consumers from spending.
Trump’s chaotic outcome
As President Trump prepares to step down this week, the chaos that has peaked in recent weeks will last for his term in office. More troops are now stationed in Washington than in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Somalia. The coronavirus is devastating the country. and impeachment proceedings.
It is unclear when Spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi will officially send the impeachment notice to the Senate, but once she does, the chamber will have to move immediately to begin the process.
A narrow Senate majority will allow Democrats to move forward more easily on pandemic relief and cabinet appointments. Senators are scheduled to begin confirmation hearings this week, with a phalanx of heavily armed National Guard troops nearby.
Biden’s first plans: President-elect Joe Biden plans to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline approval on his first day in office.
If you have 5 minutes it is worth it
A hospital failure in Covid in Egypt
A video showing coronavirus patients struggling for oxygen in a hospital went viral on social media this month and has sparked outrage across Egypt. Four people died that night when Ahmed Nafei, a relative of one of the patients, took out his cell phone and began filming, but the government denied the hospital had run out of oxygen.
Our investigative reporters spoke to witnesses and analyzed footage that showed that oxygen starvation was the result of a cascade of problems in the hospital. “The whole world can admit that there is a problem, but not us,” said one doctor.
The following also happens
Aleksei Navalny: A judge ordered the Russian opposition leader to be detained for 30 days pending trial. Mr Navalny was arrested from Germany late Sunday after arriving in Moscow, where he was recovering from a nerve agent attack.
TV drama in India: Bollywood fell into the crosshairs of the ruling Indian Bharatiya Janata party again when politicians filed criminal charges against the Amazon web series “Tandav”. Among other things, they accused the series of disrespecting Hindu gods, disparaging members of individual castes and defiling the office of prime minister.
Samsung boss locked up: A court sentenced Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of the sprawling conglomerate, to two and a half years in prison for bribing Park Gyun-hye, the president who was charged with corruption in 2016.
Snapshot: Above, a virtual NASCAR race. When the pandemic brought motorsport to a standstill, the industry turned to simulated racing. Nobody knew if digital cars would attract viewers and pay off for sponsorships, but in 10 months the gambling seems to be paying off.
Cook: This relaxed interpretation of Spanakopita, the classic Greek spinach-feta cake, combines pasta with sticky mozzarella, salted feta, lots of greens and a rich cream sauce.
listen: Olivia Rodrigo’s new single “Drivers License”, which features the one-day streaming record on Spotify, and other new tracks by Flo Milli and Lana Del Rey are among the latest favorites to hit our pop critics’ playlist.
To do: The New Year is a good time to focus on paying back credit card balances, even if you have less credit card debt than you did before the pandemic.
For more recommendations on reading, cooking, watching and acting, check out our At Home collection.
And now for the background story about …
What our reporters saw in state capitals
The past few weeks have been full of tense moments not only in Washington but also in state legislatures where armed groups of pro-Trump protesters have gathered. Our reporters documented what they saw on site on Sunday.
Lansing, Me: A small group of people armed with military-style weapons gathered outside the State Capitol on Sunday morning, but with National Guard and State Police troops surrounding the building, almost all of the protesters who showed up had disappeared by early afternoon . “That’s why I’m here because my vote was stolen,” said one participant.
Salem, Ore .: Five men in military clothing marched onto the park grounds across from the Oregon State Capitol at around 10:30 a.m. They waved flags, including an upside-down American flag, and one held a “Government Disarm!” Sign made with marker on a white placard. “We always lose rights, whoever is in office,” said one protester.
Austin, Texas: The Texas State Capitol was closed due to concerns about the protest. Armed officials from the Texas Department of Public Security patrolled the rolling Capitol grounds, guarding the entrance to the nearby governor’s house. “The only reason I’m here is to make sure no one storms the Capitol,” said one participant. “If you do that, I will step in front of you and be trampled.”
That’s it for this briefing. Until next time.
– Melina
Many Thanks
Carole Landry helped write this briefing. Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh took the break from the news. You can reach the team at [email protected].
PS
• As we celebrate Martin Luther King Day, there is no new episode of The Daily. Can we recommend The Sunday? Read on to see how a group of climate activists decided to fight global warming by doing whatever it takes.
• Here is our mini crossword puzzle and a clue: soda bubbles (four letters). You can find all of our puzzles here.
• The word “chiroptophobia” – the fear of bats that has increased during the pandemic – first appeared in The Times yesterday, the Twitter bot @NYT_first_said discovered.
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