The pandemic marches on, but so do scientific achievements like the extremely rapid development of vaccines. Their huge deployment still falls far short of the need, with whole continents being deprived of supplies, besides vulnerable sections of people. Pregnant women are a group which has been kept away from vaccine trials and immunisation in the name of vulnerability. However, they have fallen prey to the virus in any case, and efforts to immunise them are underway. Our editorial deals with the gender blindness at the root of this neglect. Pregnant women have also suffered terribly in this pandemic, just by being pregnant and unable to get medical help in time. A study explores the many ways in which they have been at the receiving end.
At the other end, we have women and men desperately trying to conceive and willing to use any means promising results. A researcher working with them faces troubling ethical challenges analysed in a study. Another outlines the dilemmas faced in research on a vulnerable community under threat of being made stateless.
A year and a half of living with “the virus” has taught us hard lessons about managing it. One article discusses these more generally, while another shares the effective Covid management practices of one particular state. Finally, a medical student contemplates the ethical responsibilities of student-doctors and a reflective piece harks back to a kinder, more tolerant time in the author’s own practice.
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Cover credit: “Fallen Ancestors” courtesy of Dr Olinda Timms