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In October last year, Tata Sons announced a breakthrough test for screening COVID-19 named Feluda Test. It was supposed to be almost fully accurate with tests results being made available in 45 minutes. At present, with Path Labs using current RT-PCR tests getting overwhelmed, Feluda Tests would have helped everyone. Are Feluda Tests being cast aside so that our Health system doesn’t get swamped by too many positive cases in a short span of time? It’s like maintaining status quo so that number of active COVID-19 cases don’t look too bad. Don’t we deserve some answers?
– Anish Balachandran
I and my family have been huge admirers of Modi & Shah. I come from the state of Gujarat where I have seen many areas in my city Ahmedabad develop and flourish in the 10 years when
Modi was CM of Gujarat. BJP has such a grassroots level stronghold that I still remember as a kid when I was riding in my school rickshaw with my friends, I was asked a question – Which political party do you support? As a child, I had heard of the names Congress and BJP (didn’t know the full form then) and since Congress sounded cooler I replied likewise and was almost instantly chided, frowned and made fun of by my fellow rickshaw mates. It didn’t make sense then but over the years it makes a lot of sense now.
BJP as a party has to be commended for giving opportunities to its karyakartas who have lived the life of a common man to know their problems. But such is the level of corruption and the hunger for power, that almost anybody gets sucked into the system never to really stand apart. That’s what has happened with Modi & Shah. Their arrogance and hunger for Bengal, allowing Kumbh Mela festival to continue when the cases were increasing rapidly shows their greed overcoming the need of the hour – to fix our health system before it gets overwhelmed. Exporting vaccines would have been a good way to yield soft power and influence to counter China and knowing that every Indian harbours the dream to see India emerge as one of the superpowers, it is only right. But these decisions will unfortunately prove to be the biggest blunders the party has committed in India’s political history. If only our PM had realised, that for a country of 1.3 billion it makes the perfect breeding ground for the virus to spread and wreak havoc.
What none of the opposition has been able to do, the virus is doing right now – people like me who were loyal voters of the party are beginning to think whether we want to vote for the same people again in 2024?
– Mohit Thakur
“Dear PM,
I suggest you re-branding the current vaccination program into say Vaccination Mission headed by Sridharan or Nandan Nilekani and you should get into background monitoring.
This would help better sync among center and states and better execution. States will happily give credit to the head of the mission too. You will get credit indirectly. This could be your “Vajpayee making Kalam the president” moment.”
– Sreekanth Kamanuru
I am a medical graduate mbbs from India and I have been pursuing my post-graduation in paediatrics and neonatology at IOM, Tribhuvan University teaching hospital,maharajgunj, Kathmandu, Nepal. I am about to write my final exam of m.d third year next week after which I will get my m.d paediatrics degree.
Many of core clinical branches like medicine, surgery, radiodiagnosis, dermatology, orthopaedics, ENT, anaesthesia are recognised at this institute (IOM being the premier institute of Nepal, like AIIMS is to India), however my branch paediatrics, as well as certain others like ob-gyn, psychiatry and Opthalmology are unrecognised among core clinical branches. there were inspections done by the previous MCI, but they on some pretext or the other have prolonged the process of recognition. without this recognition, doctors well trained in ICU management such as myself are unable to contribute our services as a recognised m.d paediatrician in India.
I desperately want to be of some use in the current scenario as soon as I graduate from here because just as a soldier feels incapacitated if he kept away from the war front, I, as a doctor would feel the same as hospital wards and ICU’s during a covid pandemic, is the warzone for us.
I have served during last covid surge here in Nepal and I come with good experience of working in PICU, NICU. in India the govt is making allopathic doctors out of everyone from Ayush, Unani and other alternative medicine branches via bridge course, but denying us recognition despite all our experience in the core clinical branches. this is an irony that it is almost tragic given the circumstances that we are in at present. in the attached mail, I have written in great detail about all the pertinent points for your kind perusal. i am also attaching an article by DR. DEVI SHETTY that will be useful to understand our situation.
I send my deepest regards as well as an appreciation for the great work that you and your team is doing.
– Dr.Nivedita Mishra
My work as a volunteer working with Bangalore municipal corporation (BBMP) has given me a ring side view of Indian response to Covid19. Volunteers in my group (Buddy volunteers) interact with Covid+ patients especially the home isolated ones, giving them information and support.
In the course of my work, I have found that if there is one product, specifically one product innovation that had the potential to change (add some teeth to) Indian response toCovid19, it would be an Indian-made, reliable, low cost pulse-oxymeter. Today the lowest cost pulse-oxymeter is more than one thousand rupees. Poor patients simply cannot afford this and it is these poor patients who potentially depend on government for treatment and other facilities, when sickness progresses.
Without a pulse-oxymeter, poorer patients are unable to gauge how sick they really are. This has resulted in two extremes of response. Many patients with good vitals panic and turn up at the hospitals making triaging by medical staff hell. The other extreme wait till the oxygen saturation goes so low that the patient needs only an ICU or ventilator for effective treatment. Contributing to the long waiting lists we are seeing for each ICU bed. Also many of these patients turn up too late at the hospitals leading to higher rates of death among people from weaker economic backgrounds. Unfortunately for us there is no visible physical indicator of low oxygen saturation.
If India could innovate and come up with a pulse-oxymeter costing three to five hundred rupees, a cost affordable by many, and then volunteers like me could make patients understand when medical intervention is really required, allowing more people to stay at home and not storm our one legged government medical infrastructure. A low cost pulse-oxymeter would open up the option for state governments to supply it freely to deserving patients. I have seen the effectiveness of free medicines supplied by Bangalore Municipal Corporation. A free kit that has a thermometer and pulse-oxymeter would be such an effective tool for patient homecare.
Indian response to any calamity has been best when it is Indian in nature. I wonder if there is hope for some Indian jugaad for a low cost pulse-oxymeter which could really help us in our fight against Covid19.
– Sahana Lokesh
The desolate images of patients and their families begging for assistance outside hospital and the footage of ceaseless lines outside cremation centres are bound to send shivers down the spines of even the coldest hearts. The inadequacy of India’s healthcare infrastructure is highlighted in the media, now it also surfaces on a personal level in our social networks in the numerous posts we see on social media platforms seeking assistance for ventilators, oxygen support, ICU, plasma donors etc.
A close relative of mine was batting the virus with a severe case of pneumonia and my family and I were struggling to find plasma for him, as prescribed by the doctor. As I was scrolling through my Instagram feed once, the flurry of these plasma donation requests, including mine perturbed me beyond measure. The Whatsapp forwards, the fake donors, it is too distressing for a patient’s family to waste time over unverified contacts. Therefore, my friends and I decided to initiate a personally verified list of authentic young and healthy donors. What was even more saddening was that even eligible healthy donors refused to donate plasma based on the unfounded fear of jeopardising their own health. Are we really that incapacitated that of all the 15086879 patients who recovered, a mere fraction have donated plasma?
As thousands of families are struggling and losing their loved ones, for most people and organisations it remains business-as-usual. Organisations are persistent in promoting their meaningless ads and notifications, influencers and the other privileged few are busy making reels, Dream11 teams or in some cases, even upskilling themselves (we know the productivity pressure is real). With all our insensitivity and nonchalance, it pains me to see how we as a society are scaling these depths of despair. While help of any magnitude is invaluable at this juncture, the least we can do is refrain from posting inconsequential content and polluting the platform for the anxious beings looking for support. This is a crisis, and it is a time of mass mourning, I urge you to not seek refuge for your ignorance under the garb of spreading positivity.
As individuals we must focus all energies and unleash the power of social media to source leads or volunteer for organisations doing so, verify them personally in order to reduce unnecessary hassle of fake leads for the patient’s family and connect the donor to the patient. Organisations of all scales must act now and leverage their huge follower base and ensure meaningful communication (that goes beyond mere donations) for the benefit of those from whom they have been benefitting till now. It could be my wishful thinking, but I ardently wish that we learn the importance of COVID appropriate social media behaviour and collective wisdom prevails.
– Harshita Arora
The second wave of coronavirus, and many new mutants associated with it, is proving to be more destructive and more contagious than Coronavirus of last year. India has been particularly affected by this. Officials are reporting record breaking levels of new infections and deaths. But the ground reports – from cities and villages – present a far grimmer situation. Some sources suggest that official records might be reporting only 10% of total deaths and infections.
In that backdrop, people aged 18+ are eligible to take Covid vaccines from May 1, 2021. Just to be clear, India has 1 Billion + people over 18 years of age. Most reports indicate that India would have administered at least one dose of vaccine to about 150 million people by April 30, 2021. That means, from May 1 onwards India would have about 850 million people yet to receive their first shot. At 2 shots per person, India would need to administer about 2 Billion doses of vaccine. At the current rate of about 2 million vaccinations per day, the scale of what remains is daunting. Mind you, India started vaccinating from Big Cities first, where we at least had proper hospitals and clinics. When it comes to rural parts, most towns and villages do not have such hospitals. So, just the sheer administration of 2 Billion doses would be a massive challenge.
Coming to vaccine production, India is importing vaccine raw materials from outside, and manufacturing the vaccines locally at 2 facilities. Even if those 2 facilities operate around the clock, there are no qualified estimates about how long it would take them to manufacture 2 Billion doses! There are reports that India would be receiving additional vaccines from some other countries, but there are no confirmed figures or dates available for that.
Then comes the “who will pay” and “who will administer” parts. Apparently, government is still working on these; there are new guidelines every day!
And I’m not even beginning to talk about lack of ambulances, medicines (such as Remdesivir), oxygen supplies, ventilators, or Healthcare staff.
Meanwhile, there is chaos in homes and streets. People are literally dying in streets, at hospital gates, on pavements, in auto-rickshaws and where not! Overwhelmed crematoriums are forced to build makeshift pyres.
What can be done by citizens/individuals?
While it might be tempting to blame authorities and officials, that is not going to help. Like in every serious situation, the first thing we need is calmness. Then we need to figure what could be done.
If you are above 18 years of age reading this, the most important thing you can do to save yourself and your loved ones is to get vaccinated ASAP. It is not worth waiting for the “perfect” vaccine, or seeing how it goes for others, or fearing for an unknown side effect. I have taken the vaccine, so has my wife (a Medical Scientist herself); I was sitting on the fence too, but I took the vaccine as soon as it was available to me. So please allow me to address some top concerns one-by-one:
i) Why should you get vaccinated ASAP?
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows that through December 14, 2020 and April 26, 2021
a. Over 230 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States
b. Approximately 30% of all people received both the doses
c. During this time, CDC received 3,848 reports of death (0.0017%) among people who received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine
d. Of those deaths, about 30% came from the age group of 80-89 years
As you can see, the number of casualties is SIGNIFICANTLY lower if you have received at least one dose, and estimated to be close to negligible once you receive both the doses.
ii) Which vaccine to take?
The best vaccine is the one that is available to you. Ask professional physicians and experts, they would tell you the same thing. Every Covid vaccine would protect against Covid to a very large extent. Even if you get Covid after vaccination, your risk of breathlessness and death would be negligible. I have taken Moderna; I know people who have taken Pfizer, AZ, Covaxin, Sputnik, or Chinese versions of it. None have reported any Covid symptoms.
iii) Seeing how it goes for others
That phase is over. Millions of people across the world have taken the vaccine now, so go and take it. For a stupid movie you might have gone first day first show. So, don’t risk your life waiting it out for this. Slacking on this can also mean burdening the healthcare system and worsening the societal costs of Covid.
iv) Side Effects
Side effects are mostly headache, fatigue etc. These too would go away in few hours. Only Johnson & Johnson vaccine reported a significantly worse side effect (blood clotting) that was high enough to stop the J&J vaccine for now (6 cases in about 6.8 million doses of that vaccine). Reportedly, AZ also had some issues, but not high enough to stop it. Personally, I didn’t feel any side effects though the injection pinched. Wish we had oral vaccines for this.
v) Prior Condition
If you have any prior condition, any other disease that you think would worsen, still go ahead and take the vaccine. Even if the vaccine was developed under speedy trials, this is among the first thing every Scientist or Quality Control or Company or Regulator looks into. No Covid vaccine would be approved for general use if it worsened any prior condition.
vi) Price
In the US, it is covered under Healthcare programs, private or government. There is generally no out of pocket cost, as it is a preventive vaccine. Besides, it is being administered at many places; I took my shot at my local pharmacy from a qualified Pharmacist. In India, government is still trying to figure out the price thing. But let that not stop you from taking the vaccine. At the max it would cost you a few thousand rupees, less than your phone bills probably!
This is not a medical advice, please consult your Doctor for that, just an appeal – if the vaccine is available to you, please go and take it ASAP.
– Vishwas Sinha
As “The Print” and all scientific experts have said, masking is the first and the cheapest line of defense against the Coronavirus. To cut the long story short, we need to make “masking up” the new normal in ways other than just appeals or fines. For this to happen, here are my suggestions, the gist of which is encapsulated in the headline of this essay.
A) Lead by example: No popularly known face at national or local level must ever be shown in any media without wearing a mask. This includes the PM, all central ministers, CM’s, all state ministers and all known political faces down to the village Sarpanch level. This has to be extended to include any known face in any field such as politics, the performing arts, music, films, sports, faith or religious leaders, journalists, TV news readers, the bureaucracy, the military and para military forces and so on.
Meetings chaired by the PM/CM’s/Ministers/Bureaucrats/Party spokespersons/TV channel debates, if televised or photographed, should not reveal a single person in the room without a mask, irrespective of social distancing. I have noticed with surprise, unmasked assistants standing behind seated senior officials in such televised meetings.
In giving reports and speeches, I am presuming TV journalists and leaders can always have more powerful mics or hold them closer to their mouths with masks put on. If not, journalists should give a health warning such as that given for smoking prior to any film and described below.
This rule needs to be applicable for at least one year. Hopefully this will accord some status to masking.
B) Make masking “normal”: Seeing any human being in all kinds of media, only with a mask on the face, should be “normalized” and be seen to be the default state. This implies that any public display of a mask-less human should be treated as being shown without clothes. For this to happen, it should be compulsory for say next one year to show any human being with a mask properly placed on his face; in any media. This includes print and TV advertisements, hoardings for any product at all, video interviews in studio that are made public, TV serials and shows, congratulatory or birthday hoardings put up by local politicians or social workers, advertisement flyers inserted in newspapers and so on.
TV serials or films that have been shot before the pandemic may be digitally modified to mask all humans, and masks must be painted on human faces on existing hoardings. Where such digital modification is not possible, such films and TV shows and serials must carry a warning that not wearing a mask is injurious to health and is a punishable offence and this film/show does not promote unmasked behavior in public.
C) Promotion: Promote masking up in a big way. Some suggestions: 1) Organize Mask design competitions to design the most “fashionable” mask. 2) Institute awards for best advertisements encouraging masking up, and separately for a best mask slogan in all languages. Media and advertising associations can take the lead here. 3) Launch “mask up” awareness campaigns on the scale of the “hum do humare do” campaign of the sixties and seventies, or the more recent polio drives, when this slogan was omnipresent on public transport, public walls, rural water tanks, railway overbridges etc. Such campaigns had begun to be shown on TV pre-Diwali last year, but somehow the frequency dropped by February this year. Now this needs to be sustained like the polio campaigns. 4) Rope in NGO’s for free mask distribution at village level. 5) Encourage MP’s MLA’s, Corporators, Panchayat members/ Party office bearers and other social influencers to wear a mask and take out rallies in their areas asking people to wear a mask. Masks should be distributed for free during such rallies. Needless to say, these “rallies” should include not more than say 3 persons in an open vehicle, with additional few motorcycle outriders, in order to attract attention and curiosity.
D) The inevitable stick: Fear of the law is necessary! Suggestions: 1) Countrywide enforcement of “No mask no entry” rule in all public transport like municipal, state and interstate private or public buses, trains, taxis and autorickshaws has to be mandatory for one year, attracting fines for non-adherence. 2) Shop owners have to be fined if their staff or customers are found inside the shop without masks. Such customers should also be fined. 3) Scan public and society CCTV cameras to see if all persons present in society common places are wearing a mask. Let police conduct random checks of CCTV footage and levy a stiff fine on the society as a whole, if anyone is found mask-less in common society areas. This will encourage members to keep a watch on each other and admonish those not following the masking rule. 4) Continue the present practices of random checks and fines in public places.
E) Relaxation: Despite the very strict and perhaps some unconventional suggestions made above, I feel one relaxation is needed for health reasons. I would like to urge the authorities to allow not more than 2 persons to walk together in open spaces or roads while wearing a mask from 5 AM to 7 AM (timings to be adjusted to local sunrise hours) so that some kind of minimal exercise regimen can be followed. Joggers and cyclists may be allowed without masks during the same time period, again if there are no more than 2 such persons together.
I hope and am pretty certain that the above steps will not only help us now, but also prepare us for further waves of Covid, or newer pandemics in future, that scientists believe are likely to strike with increasing frequency.
– Rawindra Mehendaley
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.
On wearing mask, every now’and then PM insist people to continue to wear mask, he has himself has appeared in many election meetings without mask leave alone Amit Shah and others. On physical distancing, PM was seen raising his hand joining with Tamil Nadu CM and his deputy. Moreover, CoWin portal which is now accesed by adults 18 years and above, PM’s photo has been put without mask so also in the vaccination certificate. Why media has not raised this point. At least in all Covid related forums and publicity materials, the head of the country and state is shown with mask.