Coronavirus | Slow vaccination pace makes India vulnerable to more COVID-19 waves: Fitch Ratings

Risk of longer disruption from second wave of pandemic could hurt economy, it says.

Fitch Ratings has warned that India’s slow pace of vaccination means that the country could remain vulnerable to further waves of even once the current surge subsides. Just 9.4% of the population had received at least one vaccine dose as of May 5, it pointed out. Last month, the firm had said that the second pandemic wave in the country could ‘delay’ but not ‘derail’ the economic recovery. However, it has now expressed concerns about the adverse implications of a longer disruption. “We expect the shock to economic activity from the latest wave of the pandemic in India to be less severe than in 2020, even though caseloads and fatalities are much higher. The authorities are implementing lockdowns more narrowly, and companies and individuals have adjusted behaviour in ways that cushion the effects,” Fitch said in a note on Monday.