Country needs to stick to basics till a safe and effective Covid vaccine is found : Experts
Kolkata, While India currently has low fatality rate and high recovery rate for Covid patients compared to many other nations like the US and Brazil, the country needs to stick to basics like wearing mask, physical distancing and maintaining hand hygiene and surface disinfection till a safe and effective Covid vaccine is found and the pandemic abates. This was stated by distinguished panelists who took part in a Webinar organized by the Association of Healthcare Providers of India on the theme of “Covid Care: Community Transmission and Herd Immunity.” The discussion was chaired by Dr. Girdhar J. Gyani, Director General, AHPI, and included speakers such as Dr Alexander Thomas, President, AHPI; Dr. Vinay Aggarwal, MD, Pushpanjali Medical Centre; Dr. Alok Roy, Chair FICCI Health Services Committee & Chairman Medica Group of Hospitals; Dr. Narottam Puri, Advisor, FICCI Health Services Committee; Dr. Suneela Garg, Director Prof., Dept. Of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, and Dr. Sanjeev Singh, Chief Medical Superintendent, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences. Addressing the audiences, Dr. Girdhar J. Gyani, Director General, Association of Healthcare Providers of India, said: ” India is in a much better position than countries like Brazil or the US in terms of Covid-related fatalities or recovery rate. India is seeing only 30 deaths per million Covid patients compared to a staggering 464 for Brazil and 492 for US. India’s recovery rate has gone up to 65 per cent, which is good. Fatality rate too has been continuously dropping. From 3.6 per cent at one time, it has dropped to 2 per cent now, though our wish is to see it go down to 1.5 per cent. ” Dr. Sanjeev Singh, Chief Medical Superintendent, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Faridabad, said: “Covid 19 is a public health crisis. Though the infection rate is high, the fatality rate is low in India, with low per lakh death rate, low crude mortality rate, low case fatality rate and low crude infection rate. The best way to approach the pandemic is screening actively, conducting contact tracing, testing in accordance to symptoms, with RT PCR being the gold standard diagnostic test, and symptomatic management. ” ” Early recognition and referrals to high-dependency unit or critical care unit is essential. To reduce community transmission, vaccination would play an important role. Six study groups are in Phase 3 trials and promising results are expected on short-term and long-term immunity. The most urgent step is to go back to basics with wearing masks, adhering to physical distancing and maintaining hand hygiene and adequate surface disinfection. “
Dr. Suneela Garg, Director Professor, Dept. Of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College: “There has been a shifting in epicenters of Covid in the last one month whereby Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have maximum growth rate while Delhi is faring much better. If community transmission begins to occur, isolation and quarantine will have limited or no role to play. Community driven social changes will then play an important role in containing the spread such as wearing masks, washing hands regularly and maintaining social distancing. “
” Lockdown in specific clusters will also be required. Herd immunity is indirect protection from a contagious infectious disease of a population through vaccination or through immunity developed from a previous infection. While isolation and quarantine open doors to reinfection, herd immunity offers protection in the long run. However, community transmission in a country like India may prove to be catastrophic and reinfection will prove to be a major factor preventing herd immunity. “
Said Dr Alexander Thomas, President, AHPI: “Things are still evolving with respect to Covid. Prevention of Covid cases and fatalities includes steps like coming early to hospital if one has symptoms, focus on elderly and those with comorbidities, wearing masks, physical distancing and sanitization. Government has to enforce wearing of masks strictly as many people are still not wearing these or wearing them improperly below their nose. “
” We need adequate availability of beds equipped with oxygen and ventilators, as well as human resources such as doctors and nurses. Private hospitals are overwhelmed while there are few takers for beds in Government hospitals. Public private partnership is critical in meeting healthcare challenges like Covid. “