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2021 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
9. Twitter – A World of Immediacy
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Abstract
In April 2021, India experienced the worst COVID-19 surge in the world with a record 330,000 new COVID-19 cases a day (1). At a vaccination center in Mumbai, India, notices about the shortage of the COVISHIELD vaccine turned hope into despair (see Fig. 9.1). After calling government helplines in search of a hospital bed for a critically ill COVID-19 patient, Indian attorney and medical support volunteer Jeevika Shiv turned to Twitter for help: “Serious #covid19 patient in #Delhi with oxygen level 62 needs immediate hospital bed. #Covid report awaited but oxygen saturation is very low.” Help arrived quickly, and the patient was transported to a hospital by ambulance. (See Fig. 9.2) “Finally, it was help online that worked as people responded with information,” said Shiv (2). “Twitter is having to do what the government helpline numbers should be doing,” wrote Twitter user Karanbir Singh. Twitter enables people to help each other in real time, which can be more efficient and effective than any government services.
. New Tweets per second record, and how! [Online] Twitter Engineering Blog, August 16, 2013. https://blog.twitter.com/2013/new-tweets-per-second-record-and-how.