Virus surge, vaccine shortages spread beyond India's borders

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — India has tried to fight skyrocketing coronavirus infections by increasing its production of vaccines and banning their export, cutting off supplies to neighbors such as Bangladesh and Nepal as they struggle with infection surges of their own.

These nations have imposed lockdowns as residents of big cities flee to the countryside seeking safety. They are also turning to China and Russia for vaccines in a desperate effort to deal with a pandemic that is becoming bigger and deadlier across South Asia.

Although new, more transmissible variants appear to be partly behind the surge, experts say other factors are contributing, including large holiday gatherings and growing fatigue with social distancing and mask wearing.

Here is a look at the situation in parts of South Asia, a region with about one-fourth of the world’s population:

BANGLADESH

The surge in India has created huge worries for Bangladesh, which shares a land border stretching 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) with India and where infections and deaths have surged in recent weeks.

The Muslim-majority country of 160 million people is under a lockdown lasting through May 5, which authorities say could be extended.

Bangladesh officials fear that new variants circulating in India could bring devastation.

“This is a matter of serious concern for us,” said Dr. A.S.M. Alamgir, principal scientific officer of the government’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research. “That concern has prompted the government to suspend all cross-border movement of people."

With India imposing a ban on the export of AstraZeneca vaccines made by its Serum Institute of India, Bangladesh is attempting to obtain technology from Russia and China to produce their vaccines locally.

NEPAL

An infection surge...