Apple refused a request from Facebook to remove negative reviews in the App store after pro-Palestinian protesters coordinated an effort to tank ratings because of censorship of Palestinian content, NBC News reported.
On Saturday, the Facebook app had a 2.3 out of five-star rating in the App store compared to a more than four-star rating last week. The largest category of ratings is one-star reviews, with many comments saying their rating is due to Facebook censoring hashtags like #FreePalestine or #GazaUnderAttack.
"User trust is dropping considerably with the recent escalations between Israel and Palestine," said one senior software engineer in a post on Facebook's internal message board, NBC reported. "Our users are upset with our handling of the situation. Users are feeling that they are being censored, getting limited distribution, and ultimately silenced. As a result, our users have started protesting by leaving 1 star reviews."
An internal message reviewed by NBC showed that the company was very concerned about the coordinated effort to tank ratings, categorizing the issue as an SEV1, which stands for "severity 1."
Ratings on Facebooks App in the App store were down to a 2.3 out of 5 on Saturday night.
Insider
Facebook contacted the App store to have the negative reviews removed and Apple denied the request.
Pro-Palestinian activists have complained that many social media sites have restricted or deleted pro-Palestinian content and accounts.
Instagram restricted posts with hashtags referencing Al-Aqsa, the holy mosque in Jerusalem, telling some users who posted with the hashtag that their content was associated with "violence or dangerous organizations."
The Los Angeles Times reported that some users resorted to using an ancient Arabic script that was void of dots and marks to trick online algorithms to not pick up and remove posts about Palestine.
Others intentionally misspelled words like "Palestine" or "Israel" or used COVID-19 themed stickers on their posts to make them more visible.
Facebook did not reply to Insider's email request for comment at the time of publication.
<div class="FirstEle"> <p><strong>Covid In India: </strong>Amid the growing scare of black fungus India has reported below 2.40 lakh cases for the first time since April 2021.</p> <p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">India reports 2,40,842 new </span><span class="r-18u37iz">COVID19</span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"> cases, 3,55,102 discharges & 3,741 deaths in last 24 hrs, as per Health Ministry.</span></p> <p><a href="https://ift.tt/3uj2b44 style="color: #e03e2d;"><strong><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Also Read|</span>PM Modi To Review Preparations Ahead Of Cyclone Yaas, Bengal And Odisha Gear Up| 10 Points</strong></span></a></p> <p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"> Total cases: 2,65,30,132</span></p> <p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"> Total discharges: 2,34,25,467 </span></p> <p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Death toll: 2,99,266 Active cases: 28,05,399 </span></p> <p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Total vaccination: 19,50,04,184</span></p> <div class="css-1dbjc4n"> <div id="tweet-rich-content-label" class="css-1dbjc4n" aria-labelledby="quote-tweet-label tweet-card-label"> <div class="css-1dbjc4n"> <div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1bs4hfb r-1867qdf r-1phboty r-rs99b7 r-1s2bzr4 r-1ny4l3l r-1udh08x r-o7ynqc r-6416eg"> <div class="css-1dbjc4n">Karnataka on Saturday reported as many as 31,183 new COVID19 cases pushing the total number of cases to 23,98,925, the health bulletin said. Currently, the active tally stands at 4,83,204.</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="paywall"> <p>The death toll today reached to 24,658 as 451 people succumbed to the deadly virus in the last 24 hours.</p> <p>Maharashtra’s daily coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases dipped further as the state recorded 26,133 fresh Covid-19 cases taking the tally to 5,553,225. The state’s death toll due to the pandemic reached 87,300 with 682 fresh fatalities over the last 24 hours. The case fatality rate in the state increased to 1.57%.</p> <p>Financial hub Mumbai reported 1,283 cases on Saturday as the tally reached 695,483. Mumbai also reported 52 deaths which took its death toll to 14,516.</p> <p> Kerala reported 176 deaths on Saturday, the highest since the outbreak began. In the last two days, the death toll was 320.At least 28 black fungus cases and two deaths have been reported so far. </p> <p>In Uttarakhand, a total of 65 patients have been detected with black fungus (Mucormycosis) in Uttarakhand. Of which, 61 are admitted to AIIMS Rishikesh. </p> <p><strong class="place_cont"> </strong>Nearly 9,000 people have been infected with mucormycosis or Black Fungus across the country, Union Minister Sadananda Gowda said today. In view of the rapid surge, the government has sent over 23,000 additional vials of a key drug used for the treatment of the fungal infection to the affected states, he added.</p> </div>
Maryland National Guard Specialist James Truong (R) administers a Moderna coronavirus vaccine at CASA de Maryland's Wheaton Welcome Center on May 21, 2021 in Wheaton, Maryland.
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
New data shows that daily COVID-19 infections in the US are at their lowest point since last June.
The CDC says the seven-day average has dropped below 30,000 cases.
The news comes amid more vaccinations, as nearly half the population has received at least one dose.
Daily coronavirus infections in the United States have fallen below 30,000 for the first time since last June, new data shows, revealing continued progress in battling the pandemic.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the seven-day average of daily new cases has plunged to just over 27,700.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said at a press conference that the seven-day average hasn't been this low since June 18 of last year.
Data from Johns Hopkins University also showed just 28,000 new cases on Friday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
Hospital admissions and deaths are also down. The CDC said the seven-day average for hospital admissions has dropped to 3,400 and deaths are at a new low of 498 per day.
The drop in cases comes amid a rise in vaccinations. CDC data shows that 38.9% of the total US population has been fully vaccinated and 48.9% have received at least one dose. Among those age 18 or older, a whopping 60% have received at least one shot.
"As each week passes and as we continue to see progress, these data give me hope," Walensky said. "These data are telling us a story: As more and more people roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated, the number of cases and the level of community risk is decreasing."
<p><strong>Raipur:</strong> A man was allegedly spotted violating Covid-induced lockdown in Chhattisgarh's Surajpur and in response, he was slapped by a district official and thrashed by policemen. The matter came to light as a video of the incident was shared widely on social media.</p> <p>According to the police, a case for speeding has been filed against him.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ | <span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" title="" href="https://ift.tt/2RvKOzF" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-toggle="tooltip" data-html="true" data-original-title="Story ID: 1459661">CBSE Class 12 Boards, JEE Main, NEET: 3 Options Govt May Explore In Today's High-Level Meet</a></span></strong></p> <p>In the video, the man can be seen taking out a paper and perhaps a document on his mobile phone to show to the officials when the district collector, Ranbir Sharma, walks to him. The official takes his mobile phone and smashes it on the road, he then slaps the man.</p> <p>The district collector then asks some policemen to thrash the man and they start hitting him with sticks. An argument over whether or not he is recording the incident also ensued.</p> <p>[tw]https://twitter.com/mohit0kachhwaha/status/1396175534623580161?s=24[/tw]</p> <p>The man thrashed in the video has claimed that was going to a medical store to buy medicines when he was stopped. Earlier it was speculated that he is a minor, however, that claim has been refuted. </p> <p>The police informed that a First Information Report has been filed against the man for speeding and not stopping his two-wheeler when asked to do so.</p> <p>"He said he was out for vaccination but there was no proper documentation. Later, he said he was going to visit his grandmother. I slapped him in heat of the moment when he misbehaved. He was 23-24 y/o and not 13. I regret and apologise for my behaviour,": the Surajpur District Collector said in clarification as quoted by ANI.</p> <p>In a statement, Ranbir Sharma has apologised for slapping the man saying: "Today, a video is viral on the social media in which I am shown slapping a man who was out during lockdown. I sincerely apologise. I never had any intention to disrespect or belittle the person in the video".</p> <p>"In this pandemic situation, district Surajpur along with entire Chhattisgarh is facing the irreparable loss of life. We government employees of the state government are striving hard to tackle this problem. My parents and I were also affected by Coronavirus. I am now post-Covid but mother is still positive and undergoing treatment at home," the district collector added.</p> <p>"He was riding a bike and was overspeeding. The man also misbehaved with officials", the collector said.</p>
A very small number of teenagers and young adults who have received either Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have reported heart problems, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it's not clear if it's related to the vaccine itself.
The CDC's vaccine safety group reported that myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, was reported in a "relatively few" number of young people a few days after they received their second dose of either of the mRNA vaccines. The condition appeared more prevalent in males than females.
The safety group said that most cases appear to be mild and they're continuing to follow up on cases.
The advisory group noted that the rate of reported myocarditis cases after COVID-19 vaccinations was not different from the baseline rate, which means there may not be a link between vaccination and the condition.
A study from last year published on the National Institute of Health site found that about 10 to 20 of every 100,000 people develop myocarditis worldwide each year, but experts said some cases may be missed and never diagnosed.
"It may simply be a coincidence that some people are developing myocarditis after vaccination," Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York, told The New York Times. "It's more likely for something like that to happen by chance because so many people are getting vaccinated right now."
The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine approved for those under the age of 18. Around 4.6 million Americans between the ages of 12 and 18 have already received one dose, with more than 1.8 million being fully vaccinated, according to data from the CDC.
Experts are still encouraging young people to get vaccinated and have said the risks of severe COVID-19 or long-haul symptoms outweigh risks associated with the potentially rare side effect of myocarditis, the Times reported.
The American Academy of Pediatrics reported that more than 3.9 million children have been infected with COVID-19 so far, more than 16,000 have been hospitalized, and at least 308 have died, according to data from May 13.
One millennial investor vowed to "never again" miss out on gains from hyped-up cryptocurrencies. One $500 investment later, he's now the proud owner of 20 billion units of Australian Safe Shepherd, also known as ASS coin, Bloomberg reported.
In the article, titled "$ASS Coin Billionaire: Tales From the Fringe of the Crypto Craze," Bloomberg reporters detailed the wild ride of 38-year-old Eric Hackney, who opted to play the financial markets on the Robinhood app after losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of work for $9 an hour.
The article described him as a "thrill-seeking amateur, goaded on by social media." Social media platforms have become a key part of the boom in retail trading, as a recent survey showed one in five investors has used Reddit to help them make an investment decision.
Hackney, a former bar tender from Tampa, Florida, said he was part of the GameStop craze earlier this year in which an army of Reddit retail traders caused the stock to skyrocket, squeezing short sellers. As for his investment in the stock, he told Bloomberg he "was up and then, in a blink, he wasn't."
He invested in dogecoin, at one point, too. Dogecoin, which twisted and turned this past week amid broader market volatility, started as a social media joke about a popular meme and has since turned into a well-known altcoin.
In January, Hackney bought dogecoin at 4 cents, and the currency immediately doubled. But he couldn't stand the wild price swings and sold his position, only to see it rocket to 70 cents earlier this month.
At that point, he vowed to never let that happen to him again, Bloomberg wrote. That's when he put $500 into ASS coin.
Altcoins have taken hold of retail investors recently. Instead of the well-known bitcoin, many are investing in alternatives like dogecoin, litecoin, and safemoon, among others.
Earlier this week, Barstool sports founder Dave Portnoy, calling the alternatives "sh*tcoins," invested $40,000 in Safemoon, which launched in March.
Cryptocurrency linked-stocks plummeted this week amid massive sell-offs in bitcoin and ethereum. Analysts have warned against investing in alternative cryptocurrencies, though, saying the social-media driven coins are unregulated and highly volatile.
<p><strong>Mumbai</strong>: <span data-contrast="auto">Several tinsel celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar have extended support to the needy amid the COVID-19 crisis. Sonal Chauhan, who made her Bollywood debut with ‘Jannat’, distributed biscuits and water bottles to people outside a temple in Mumbai on Saturday (May 22) afternoon. However, her act of kindness faced criticism from the netizens after her video from the temple went viral on social media.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Many Instagram users expressed their displeasure over the video and accused the ‘Rainbow’ actress for doing things ‘for the sake of publicity’. Some users asked her to serve the poor without any cameras rolling around her while others requested her to offer food items like pulses, rice and fruits.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><strong>Also READ: <a href="https://ift.tt/2Tb9Jc9 Father Was Medically Murdered': Sambhavna Seth Accuses Hospital Of Negligence, Says 'I Will Fight For Truth'</a></strong></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">One user wrote, “She's more concerned about her hair. Charity is more for the camera.” </span><span data-contrast="auto">Another user commented, “Dena </span><span data-contrast="auto">hai</span><span data-contrast="auto"> to mid-day meal do, parle-g se pet </span><span data-contrast="auto">nahi</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">bharta</span><span data-contrast="auto"> madam (Offer them full meal as biscuits won’t fill their stomach).” “Doing for publicity,” </span><span data-contrast="auto">a</span><span data-contrast="auto"> user wrote. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}">"I mean atleast provide them a full meal if you plan to advertise it on social platforms," one Insta user said.</span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Some fans supported Sonal after she became the victim of trolls on social media. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}">They lauded her for taking efforts to feed the poor amid the COVID-19 crisis.</span></p> <p><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"><br /><img src="https://ift.tt/3fbT0xQ" /></span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto"><span class="TextRun SCXW67371634 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW67371634 BCX0">Sonal shared a post on her Instagram story to encourage fans to help the needy amid the pandemic. She wrote, “Please help the needy in whatever capacity you can. If we help one another, we can make sure nobody sleeps hungry. Because there is enough food out there for everyone... just that some don't have the means to buy it.”</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW67371634 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto"><span class="EOP SCXW67371634 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"><br /><img src="https://ift.tt/3v6j0Ah" /></span></span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">On the professional front, Sonal Chauhan was last seen in ‘The Power’. The action thriller co-starring Vidyut </span><span data-contrast="auto">Jammwal</span><span data-contrast="auto">, Shruti Haasan and </span><span data-contrast="auto">Prateik</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Babbar premiered on ZEEPlex on January 14, 2021. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}">Watch this space for more updates!</span></p>
COVID-19 and a year of staying at home may have saved some brick-and-mortar stores from the retail apocalypse, or at least slowed its advances.
Some of the country's biggest retailers, including Walmart, Macy's, Target, and Home Depot, said sales are strong and shoppers are returning to stores as pandemic restrictions ease and the country reopens. Some experts predict that after more than a year of staying at home because of the lockdowns, people will again embrace shopping in person, kickstarting a new life for some traditional retailers.
Target saw similar growth, with a 22.9% increase in comparable sales over the same period last year. A slowdown in growth of digital sales seems to be a signs that shoppers are more willing to come into stores to do their shopping in person, reversing the trend of the last year.
"With vaccinations rolling out across the country and consumers increasingly comfortable venturing out, we've seen an enthusiastic return to in-store shopping," Target CEO Brian Cornell told analysts during an earnings call.
Home Depot sales growth continued at nearly 30% for the first quarter, as customers work on home additions concentrated in the lumber, bath, and kitchen areas.
This is a period of "retail reinvention," Cowen senior equity research analyst Oliver Chen told Insider. "There were winners and losers" in the pandemic, he said. "The survivors are getting stronger" and taking more market share, he told Insider, pointing to Walmart and Target as examples.
The rise of curbside pickup also reflects this trend, Chen said, as a kind of midpoint between e-commerce and in-store shopping. It's been embraced by Walmart and Target to great success, with many return customers. Curbside shopping is also ideal for stores, which get the benefit of lower fulfillment costs as customers complete the expensive last mile of shipping themselves.
Macy's, which was already struggling before COVID-19 took a bite out of retailers revenue, said this week that sales jumped 56% in its first quarter compared to the same period last year. CEO Jeff Gennette thinks it's the start of a new trend. "Clearly our customer is ready to get on with life," Gennette said. "We don't see this as a short-term pop. We think this is momentum that has not peaked yet."
Shoppers are likely to continue heading out to stores as more states lift mask requirements, allowing vaccinated customers to shop without a face covering. Walmart and Costco are among stores that have lifted mask requirements.
Multiple funeral pyres of those who died of COVID-19 burn at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for the mass cremation of coronavirus victims, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 24, 2021.
Altaf Qadri/AP
With 24 hours notice, I flew from New York to New Delhi to help my father care for sick family members.
My grandmother's condition began to worsen and we had to find an available hospital bed, but there were very few options.
In the week since I arrived in India, I lost friends and family members - all I could do was write condolence messages.
Amitoj Singh is a New York-based journalist who has previously been principal anchor and news editor at India's New Delhi Television.
This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.
In the span of 24 hours, two of my friends lost their fathers to India's COVID crisis.
It was that fear for my father's life that made me pack my bags and leave New York within a day's notice.
It was April 24 and New York was coming back - you could feel it. The sun was shining that glorious Saturday. I woke up, donned my running shoes, grabbed my headphones, and without checking my overnight messages, took off for a run around the Central Park reservoir. Midway through the run, I got a rare call from my dad's sister. I would call her back. But then a feeling nagged me so I called my dad. He answered like he always did whatever the situation.
"Ya Johnny," as he calls me. Not waiting to hear my reply, I heard him ask my 93-year-old grandmother to keep her mask on. "Don't you want to get well?" I stayed quiet for a moment.
"Dad, do you have COVID?" I interrupted.
"I may have. I don't know. I haven't been able to get a test yet. I've been kind of sick for the past few days. But everyone here is sick. I'll call you back." He needed to give someone medicine.
He was taking care of his cousin and mother at their house in a town called Paonta Sahib, a five-hour drive from New Delhi, India.
Over the next half hour, I learned that COVID had hit my family in three separate households. I knew I needed to help my father, and since I was fully vaccinated, I decided to fly back to India.
From a city that survived to a country in crisis
As a breaking news journalist for the past 10 years, I'm used to packing my bags quickly and leaving for a new destination. But, this time was different. I was leaving New York after having survived the worst of the city's crisis, after avoiding getting the virus for more than a year. It felt like the pandemic was over. But now I was travelling to the world's second-most populous country where the virus was uncontrollable.
"What will you be able to do? You don't understand. The moment you exit the airport, you will get the virus. It's in the air. It's everywhere," warned my brother-in-law urging me to not come. His mother and grandmother had been infected in the same house.
On the plane, I overheard a number of my fellow double-masked passengers asking about the health of loved ones back home.
"What are the oxygen levels?"
"I should be home in about 15 hours. Do we need a hospital bed yet?"
After landing in India, I entered our family home. My father spoke to my grandmother, "Look who has come. He's come from America to be with you." Even the oxygen mask couldn't hide her happiness at seeing me. But for me, there was no time to feel joy, relief, or family warmth, only the slow build-up of shock - an unbelievable realization that a crisis I thought was over, was very much alive.
My family house looked like a hospital. Medicine, defibrillators, an IV line set up, an oxygen concentrator, and medical supplies crowded the rooms. My father was performing a non-stop schedule of cooking, measuring oxygen and blood pressure levels, seeking the advice of doctors, giving medicine, updating the rest of the family, and constantly planning the next move - which hospital has a bed we can take her too?
Three other members of the family had COVID too.
Still jet-lagged, I settled into the night shift to look after my grandmother. She would unknowingly take off her oxygen mask and I would put it back on to keep her blood oxygen levels stable. When she took it off, her oxygen levels shot down. So far, I was winning. I just had to gently hold her hand through the night.
Cows feast on fruits left as offerings at the cremation site of a COVID victim.
Amitoj Singh/Insider
News of the death of a family elder, a loving grand-uncle, rocked us. He had been as close to me as a grandfather. Speaking to friends and family, I learned COVID was in every household.
A former colleague, in his 30s, dead.
A friend's grandfather, dead.
A friend's wife, a mother to two young kids, dead.
Chasinghospitalbeds
In all of this, my grandmother's condition was worsening. My father decided it was time to get her to a hospital bed. One was available three hours away in a small town in the hills of the North Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The ambulance arrived, but the medical staff refused to touch my grandmother for fear of contracting the virus. We had to transport her to the ambulance ourselves. Midway to the hospital, the oxygen supply malfunctioned temporarily.
Upon arrival, two doctors outside the COVID-dedicated facility spoke to my father. They were impatient, frustrated, and immediately cited their doubts. They didn't think a 93-year-old could survive. They didn't want to take responsibility for another death. They said maybe it's better if we took her back home.
Moments before our arrival, a 38-year-old man had died within seconds of entering the premises. They hadn't even been able to take him out of the ambulance. My father assured the doctor, my grandmother was a fighter. She had no comorbidities at 93 - we expected she would live past 100 easily. They allowed her to be admitted.
But their frustration was justified. The hospital itself was inadequate; it didn't have ventilators, a laboratory for basic diagnostic tests, a CAT scan, resuscitation equipment, or an ICU. Even oxygen was rationed between 32 patients as there were only nine regulators. Two of the four government-appointed attendants had not been paid in five months.
The writer's grandmother, Harjit Kaur, being treated by the doctors at a COVID facility in North India.
Amitoj Singh/Insider
We had to recalibrate. We couldn't take my grandmother to Delhi or any other nearby town. We couldn't take her back home because my father had given our oxygen concentrator to a friend in an emergency, thinking there would be oxygen at the hospital. We tried to find an open hotel for the night. We found one, but they required negative COVID tests and we didn't have any.
They allowed us to sit in their restaurant to have tea. Eventually the owner came out. He happened to know my grandmother from her work as a social worker in the area. He explained the situation.
"It's horrible. I suggest you drive back. You can't do anything. You can keep track of what's happening by video-calling the doctor regularly."
On our drive back, my father made dozens of calls to find a bed in a better medical facility. We had no luck; there were no beds anywhere. The next day we were able to find accommodation near the hospital, so we drove back to be near my grandmother. The rest of my family scrambled to find oxygen in case she needed to come home.
The ambulance that came at 8 p.m. on May 4 to take Harjit Kaur, the writer's grandmother, back home.
Amitoj Singh/Insider
After three days, the doctor was prepared to discharge my grandmother. She was heard mumbling "take me back home." Her oxygen levels were stable, and we were told she was "COVID-free." The doctor even posted a picture with her on social media, proud of having treated a 93-year-old patient. She was looking better.
The crisis is not over
Despite the positive signs, 24 hours later, after an irregular heartbeat sent us to a local hospital and home again since we couldn't find space in an ICU, my grandmother died as she passed over the threshold into her house. She had died the way she wanted, in her own home.
In the week since I arrived in India, I lost friends and family members. I tried to help with oxygen and finding hospital beds, but in the end, all I could do was write out condolence messages.
A pyre burns at the banks of India's Yamuna river, Paonta Sahib, a designated cremation site for COVID-related deaths
Amitoj Singh/Insider
Back in the US, I saw friends moving on from the pandemic - most of them had been vaccinated, extra doses were everywhere, New York was opening up, and selfies of joyful reunions adorned my media platforms.
In India, I was under lockdown. I couldn't step outside. I was still trying to get my parents fully vaccinated, still trying to help friends and acquaintances get beds, oxygen, and vaccines. I was reliving the pandemic.
While the US is moving on, the pandemic still rages in India. Four days ago, on May 18, India recorded 4,529 COVID deaths, the pandemic's highest single daily death toll in any country so far.
Each is given as a shot in the muscle of the upper arm.
You might not get a choice about which COVID-19 vaccine you get, but all four offer some protection against severe illness, so the advice is to take one if you are offered it.
For the two-dose vaccines, you should have two shots of the same one, where possible.
Speak with your doctor if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have a specific medical condition, or take medicines -especially if they thin your blood or affect your immune system. Experts have said the COVID-19 vaccines won't make you infertile. Side effects may start within a day or two and should go away within a few days.
A rare adverse-event associated with AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson's COVID-19 shots include unusual blood clots in the brain. You should seek urgent medical attention if you have a persistent or severe headache lasting more than three days. Other symptoms to watch out for include: shortness of breath, chest pain, painful limbs and tummy pain.
We've made a table that gives you the key information for each shot, whether you've booked an appointment or not. Scroll down to view it.
