‘ He will be dead by tonight’ explained our guide cum driver, on seeing a single young wildebeest roaming through the Savannah grasslands of Masai Mara National Park in Kenya. The poor soul was separated from the herd, making him an easy bait for lions, cheetahs, and even hyenas. After asking if we can save him, our guide firmly replied ‘No, this is nature’s way of maintaining a balance.’ I never realized that the image of the lonely Wildebeest would come back to haunt me six years later. During a recent panel, a community medicine expert unabashedly announced that herd immunity is the only way to tackle Covid-19 for our resource-deprived country.
She proudly proclaimed, ‘Yes, we are likely to have ‘few’ deaths, but the savable will be saved’. Three out of the six panelists, including me, were over 60 years old and didn’t fit into her criterion. ‘Survival of the fittest and natural…
