It’s now likely that the pandemic has, as feared, moved out of urban areas into India’s vast, and crowded, rural hinterland. Here, health services will be far less equipped for a surge in cases — and a distant state machinery itself may not know of localized outbreaks till it is too late.The government,faced with a crashing economy and with its cupboards completely bare, has no real way to directly improve the welfare of those most affected. Programs like Britain’s furlough scheme or the U.S.’s $600 per week unemployment aid are a distant dream in India.

The government has announced plans to begin administering the shot more widely to medical personnel and teachers in the coming weeks, ahead of a broader national campaign slated for late this year. The move has led to concerns that political pressure could prevail over safety considerations and risk public health as the world seeks an end to the pandemic.