Experts say ‘black fungus’ is commonly seen in patients who have recovered from Covid-19 but have comorbidities such as diabetes, kidney or heart failure or cancer. | Image Courtesy: PTI
As Maharashtra spindles under the second wave of COVID-19, cases of black fungus infection mucormycosis are rising in recovered patients. Cases commonly known as black fungus, have been reported from Maharashtra among those who have recovered from COVID-19.
The fungal infection is caused by a group of moulds called Mucormycetes. These moulds live throughout the environment. Mucormycosis mainly affects people who have health problems or take medicines that lower the body’s ability to fight germs and sickness.
Health Minister Rajesh Tope told Afternoon Voice, “The growing cases of black fungal infection is a matter of concern, the state government has planned to use hospitals attached to medical colleges as treatment centres for Mucormycosis, a serious but rare fungal infection now affecting coronavirus patients.”
He said, “There could be over 2,000 new Mucormycosis patients in the state as of now and with more and more COVID-19 cases coming up, their number would increase for sure.”
He said black fungus has a 50 per cent mortality rate and is found in COVID-19 patients with suppressed immunity or co-morbidities.
“We are trying to cover most of the treatment under the Mahatma Phule Jan Aarogya Yojana (the state’s flagship health scheme), as Mucormycosis patient needs to be seen by various experts such as ENT, ophthalmologists and neurologists among others,” the minister stated further.
Commenting over the costly treatment, Tope said, “I will be writing to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority to bring down the MRP of medicines needed for Mucormycosis treatment. Amphotericin-B is a key medicine required for the treatment of such patients. Haffkine (a state-run pharma firm based in Mumbai) is going float a tender for one lakh injections of the drug.”
Symptoms of Mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, include headache, fever, pain under the eyes, nasal or sinus congestion and partial loss of vision.
Odisha has detected its first case of mucormycosis or ‘black fungus’ in a 71-year-old COVID-19 patient with a known history of chronic diabetes. On Friday Niti Aayog Member (Health) V K Paul had said that mucormycosis cases were being found in coronavirus patients. Maharashtra, Gujarat has reported a rise in cases of rare but potentially fatal infection.
Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power whatever he announced has flopped after big hype, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan remained a publicity stunt, nothing else. The garbage piles across cities making fun of the system. Demonetisation was a big shocker for the middle class and small-time business people, no black money returned to India but rupees two thousand notes gave birth to new corruption in India.
People voted for this government so that Vijay Mallya type crooks should be behind the bar and not making a mockery of India at the International level. Many businessmen duped Indian banks and hid in foreign lands and our government has no reach to nab them.
What has been done under this government to improve the education system or health care system? Ask the budding entrepreneurs that how the Make in India initiative is helping them, the groundwork for any of these initiatives is zero. There was one such yojana from our PM in which Rs 6000 will be given as cash or in their accounts to the pregnant ladies. How on Earth is this a progressive move?
BJP consists of shrewd politicians. Be it Amit shah, Modi himself. They are creating such a scenario that they want no voices against them to be annulled. They just conquered it fooling people with a feeling that they are the party full of nationalism. The appointment of Ram Nath Kovind purely on caste is sheer hypocrisy on behalf of a party who voiced not to support casteism in India.
LPG raised prices, Opposing GST and now implementing it are some more examples. What I see is only words, no actions. No education for poor, no health reforms, no cleanliness but Back to the ideology of old days “Gai hamari mata hain humko aur kuch nahi bhata hain”.
The recent statement by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. She emphasizes her view by looking at the second wave of Corona and the government’s inability to control the pandemic. “The system has not failed, but the Modi government has failed.”
Health workers, policemen, and mortgagors are the same as before. Listen to various commentators – 4 lakh cases daily and 4 thousand deaths. India has set a world record in rapid vaccination despite the acute shortage of vaccines. But again, the elites have no struggle in availing their vaccines but commoners have to struggle to get an appointment and then vaccine in time.
The Allahabad High Court called the unprecedented epidemic deaths at a Corona hearing even as a massacre, and NDTV anchor Ravish Kumar has also appealed to fans to call it a massacre. These are the hallmarks of judicial joblessness and media dismissal respectively. Neither the High Court is going to sentence anyone to ‘genocide’ nor Ravish Kumar will be able to tighten the standard of ‘genocide’ to anyone. We are just wasting our time in a war of words.
Therefore, Sonia’s political perspective is more grounded. It can be easily tested, in the interval between the overthrow of the Sonia regime in India and the check of the Modi regime in the meantime, the health system of the country has not changed even an inch. Well, Congress has always believed in infrastructure and development in the true sense because all the hospitals, medical centres were built in their regime, the Modi government gave us statues and temples but no schools or hospitals. The Smart City project is another big failure.
God forbid, if tomorrow a distinguished member of one camp dies with corona, then the other side will leave no stone unturned to pay tribute to the person. If in doubt, the long-overdue tribute of Ravish Kumar should be read on the untimely death of Rohit Sardana, the Taliban of the mooring media. This became an example of the success of the system. The media is divided, there are different groups, some support only the government no matter how much they failed and some attack Modi no matter whatever he does, this is one big achievement of the system in present days.
Of course, anyone can come wherever in the grip of Corona, but who will die, the governance system is deciding it beforehand. The rich and wealthy are in the care of the corporate hospitals, the middle class in the Jugaad of ‘good’ medical facilities and the poor in their absence! Governments in cities keep giving solace and the news of rare accountability in the media keeps ongoing.
Making government hospitals well maintained, food supply and giving other facilities is a government responsibility and this has been part of the system for decades. Now, in times of pandemics, how can it be called ‘failed’? Of course, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been replicated in the international media for India’s national shame over Corona management, Sonia’s claim about the recovery of the system is nothing more than this.
Think, in the name of the hospital, due to administrative commissioning mechanisms, the expenditure on building and equipment has always been there, but, as there are unwritten rules, oxygen plants are not made even for emergency wards. Why? Because, from the beginning, like any other supply, oxygen supply has also been a part of the wider commissioning mechanism. Even if we had to build our oxygen plants for hospitals in the current clamour of the Corona era, they would surely remain victims of expensive maintenance.
There is black marketing of every necessary corona related facilities, be it arranging beds or oxygen supply. And legal proceedings are not limited to statistics on middlemen, hoarders and profiteers? Are there not all types of specialists and all kinds of hospitals in the country? Has anyone ever forgotten that the needy should be given priority? This is the well-known system that Sonia has talked about and in which even a little scratch has not been found.
If you have to mark a corona hero today, then whose name will be on your mind? Not only Bollywood stars Sonu Sood. In the media, he is being called a ‘messiah’ on his face and he can often be seen accepting it with a slight grin.
Wait, how does everyone know that a close friend of cricketer Suresh Raina, Sonu Sood can work in an oxygen emergency! Whatever they do, it immediately becomes popular. Also, the requests for help that have come to them will be dealt with by 2035. Isn’t this the system? Will it be called a system failure?
Are not the jail manuals doing their work that the death of Mahavir Narwal, who was dying for months, met his daughter, Natasha, who has been in jail. Actor-YouTuber Rahul Vohra said while dying in the hospital, “If I had got good treatment, I might have survived too.” But this is the system! I agree with the Congress President.
COVID-19: Maharashtra’s extraordinary dealings saved 19,000 lives in the second wave 4
The COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra dropped drastically, the state has recorded its lowest single day Covid tally at 37,236 on Monday for the first time in 41 days, the state’s handling of the pandemic received from the country’s premier scientific institutes, the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Mumbai saw 1,782 new cases, taking the tally to 6,77,412 while the overall fatality count stood at 13,855, the department said. The Pune circle, which covers Solapur and Satara districts besides Pune, reported the highest 8,120 cases in the day in the state, followed by 7,151 new infections in the Nashik circle.
The number of daily coronavirus positive cases in the state, which has been whirling under the rising pandemic, threw down underneath 40,000 to 37,236 on Monday for the first time after March 31. Maharashtra’s overall cases now stand at 51,38,973 while 549 mortalities pushed the toll 76,398, the state health department said.
Maharashtra’s extraordinary dealings saved around 19,000 lives in the second wave and it escaped the additional burden of 38 lakh cases too, Dr Sashikumaar Ganesan who handles the institute’s Covid dashboard told a leading daily.
Maharashtra government in April has imposed excessive orders banning dining-in at restaurants, closed temples and malls when the second wave hit the country hard. The state was reporting over 50,000 cases on most days since April 9.
The report added that the capital Mumbai reported 11,206 cases on April 4, three times the highest single-day tally during the first wave of the pandemic. However, registering a sharp fall, the financial capital reported just 1,782 cases, the lowest in 76 days. Deaths in both Maharashtra and Mumbai continued to be high at 549 and 74, respectively. Maharashtra had earlier reported 39,544 cases on March 31. Maharashtra is now left with 5,90,818 active cases.
Due to the 15-day lockdown in the state, it not only saved 19,000 lives but also averted more than 38 lakh cases, according to the IISC model. The national trend curve had earlier predicted 95,300 deaths in Maharashtra on May 9, the actual toll stood at 75,850. While it estimated the caseload to climb to 89 lakhs by May 9, the actual caseload went 51 lakhs.
Lockdown has affected the woman, by all means, managing family without house help, taking care of the job and above all managing financial and children’s study stress is something the woman of the house had to take on her. Women seem to be more strained than men during the Pandemic.
There is a need to introspect the inflexibility around gender responsibilities in the traditional meaning of the term. Women belonging to families, where these responsibilities are not as rigid as they used to be, are not as stressed during this period of lockdown. The coronavirus lockdown in India has, ironically, doubled the burden: work-from-home and work-for-home. The coronavirus pandemic and the unique lockdown that followed have led to the rise in stress levels among people worldwide.
Various studies have warned of an impending risk of a major global mental health crisis due to the coronavirus outbreak. Young women seem to be at particular risk of developing mental health problems as a result of the pandemic. The survey conducted by the NGO Population Foundation of India looked at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people between 10 and 24 years in UP, Bihar, and Rajasthan in May.
Nine out of 10 respondents revealed that they had to seek some kind of counselling to cope with the mental health fallout of the unprecedented lockdown. The higher stress level in young women was linked to a variety of reasons, including extra workload at home, family pressure, withdrawal of education, and lack of access to their basic needs. Disruptions in the daily routine triggering spike in eating disorder cases.
Unfortunately, many women had no idea what was in store for them. In the absence of the support staff consisting of a cook and two maids, the major share of household chores rested on their shoulder. Her day starts early, almost at 6 am because she needed to cook breakfast and clean the house before she started her office work at 9 am. Around noon she would leave her office work unattended to cook lunch and since she didn’t have the time to eat her meals peacefully, she would eat whatever she could between online meetings and presentations. Unable to handle the pressure after four long months, many broke down and sought help from a counselling psychologist. Over the past many days, women have been fighting in vain to secure entry for their domestic help into their residential society.
Above all, this is work-from-home, not a holiday. Without the maid, it’s impossible to cook, clean and take care of the kid. As the “woman of the house,” the responsibility of running the household, which includes husband, children and other members. All that exclusively falls on the woman of the house.
In the absence of the domestic help who otherwise handled most of these chores—cleaning, mopping, washing dishes, babysitting—carries the additional physical and mental burden now. For that is the rule instinctively adhered to in Indian families where male members are not expected to perform household tasks. There is a very clear gender dimension to it (the lockdown) because most Indian households don’t have equal sharing of housework. Even though the husband and wife may be both working from home, the load will be disproportionately borne by the women. And this doesn’t mean full-time homemakers are better off. They will have the added issue of catering to the demands of their husbands, fathers-in-law, or brothers-in-law, who are at home now.
There are many single women in the city and they have their different challenges, one in three women are currently suffering from loneliness owing to pandemic and lockdown. Social distancing and isolation have created a void in these women’s mind and that has led to loneliness, a complex human emotion that can gradually lead to depression and then suicide, if not addressed on time.
Recently, researchers at the University of Essex conducted a study and found out that women are more vulnerable to mental health problems during the coronavirus pandemic than men. The study revealed that the number of women suffering from stress and loneliness during the COVID-19 outbreak has risen from 11 per cent to 27 per cent. On the other hand, the number of men suffering from at least one mental condition has reached 18 per cent from 7 per cent. Notably, loneliness is described as a state of solitude and feeling alone. It can leave you feeling unwanted and empty. People suffering from loneliness crave human attention and communication but feel difficult to form connections.
There are an array of reasons why you may feel lonely. Four-five long months, all alone in four walls, with multiple issues to handle, in such a situation’s loneliness leads to alcoholism, antisocial behaviour, decreased memory, altered brain function, and hopelessness. Anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite, and lack of physical activity are some of the biggest challenges that Sheila and her husband face and the couple admits that they have become apprehensive, resentful, anxious and prone to anger. Now commuting to the office in Bus is another challenge, local trains yet to resume. Limited buses running on limited frequencies, imagine how much stress this is. Long hours going in a queue, then getting a seat, then travelling distance. Woman traveller spends her maximum time commuting. Her day starts very early and hardly any night time in her kitty. We as society and authorities, need to felicitate women with some facilities, where the like can become a little easy for her.
An official informed the media that the sum of Rs 108 crore has been allocated to provide Rs 1,500 each as one-time relief amid coronavirus-induced restrictions to 7.20 lakh autorickshaw drivers in Maharashtra. The government notification on this was issued on May 7.
The money will be deposited directly in the accounts of drivers who will have to upload permit, badge, vehicle and Aadhaar card details to be eligible for the relief package, the official informed.
Krishna Yadav
Krishna Yadav, an auto driver from Mumbai’s Kandivali area said, “Government always announces such schemes but they remain in their books. For one and half years due to this lockdown auto drivers suffered a lack of job, ask the government to provide the data of all those rickshaw pullers who have received aids.”
In the wake of lockdown following the COVID-19 outbreak, autorickshaw drivers in Maharashtra have not only been hit financially but also psychologically. Though they know the step has been initiated due to a medical emergency, it is hard to make ends meet, they say.
Gopal Yadav
Gopal Yadav, an autorickshaw driver from Kalina Mumbai said, “I have not used my autorickshaw since the day the second lockdown was announced. On a normal day, the day’s earnings would be used for buying important commodities. But now I can only buy them in small amounts. I have two kids and old parents, but don’t have any support from anywhere to take care of family needs, even if I receive this 1500 relief, how can that take care of me?”
Purab Mishra
Purab Mishra, who receives customers throughout the day normally, says that “It is difficult for him to sit idle at home. “I spend time watching the television or doing some household work,” he says, adding he is already under stress due to his present financial condition. My wife is a maid but she is also out of work.
Sunder Prajapati
“I have a loan to refund. But now I have to borrow more money to feed my family,” says Sunder Prajapati from Borivali station. “I need to work hard after the lockdown is lifted completely, then only I will be able to earn enough to pay back the loan,” Prajapati says.
So far, no autorickshaw drivers have received any aid or financial help from the state government, the news is hitting headlines but the ground reality is completely different.
On Monday, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi alleged that the Centre has abdicated its responsibility and left COVID-19 vaccination to states.
“Modi government has abdicated its responsibility and left vaccination to states. It would have been financially more equitable for the Centre to provide free vaccine to all,” the party Chief said while Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting.
Sonia Gandhi further expressed concern over the worrying situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
“In past four weeks, COVID-19 situation has become even more catastrophic. Governance failures have become even starker. Scientific advice has been willfully ignored and the country is paying a horrendous price for the Central government’s neglect of the pandemic,” she added.
Meanwhile, India today reported 3,66,161 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, as per the union health ministry. With this, the cumulative count of the cases has gone up to 2,26,62,575.
As many as 3,754 people succumbed to the disease in the country in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative death toll to 2,46,116. As per the government data, a present there are 37,45,237 active cases of COVID-19 in the country.
The country also witnessed as many as 3,53,818 recoveries taking the cumulative recoveries to 1,86,71,222. The total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered stand at over 17,01,76,603, informed the health ministry.
COVID-19: Mucormycosis, black Fungus a new health hazard 13
In Mumbai many COVID-19 survivors have died due to mucormycosis, a fungal infection, during treatment in the state, so far 200 such patients are being treated out of which eight patients lost their lives. India has been reporting over 4 lakh COVID-19 infections daily for the past three days and the death toll has remained over 3000 for the past ten days.
Even as medical authorities wrestling with new emergent variants showing different symptoms in India, hospitals are perceiving a rise in deadly fungal infection in patients recovering from COVID. Hospitals in cities like Delhi, Pune and Ahmedabad have reported multiple cases of Mucormycosis, also known as black fungus which is visible in patients post COVID-19 recovery.
It is a rare problem developing in COVID patients, sometimes, during active COVID infection, but more commonly – weeks to months after recovery from COVID. It is a rare but hazardous fungal infection caused by a group of moulds known as mucormycetes, which are present naturally in the atmosphere.
It instigates in the sinuses/nose/teeth and has the potential to spread into the eye and even the brain. If not detected in time, this infection can be dangerous and life-threatening. Currently, there are no proven feasible measures for prevention and early detection is the best bet for now. Some of the things supported for preclusion are gargles and nasal douching with Betadine solution, strict control of diabetes, using steroids only on prescription by a physician. Mucormycosis only causes serious complications when a patient has pre-existing health problems or has taken medication that conciliates the immunity system. People who have received steroids as a part of their Covid-19 treatment are at risk. Persons who have received immunomodulatory drugs e.g. Tocilizumab also faces risk.
Doctors say nothing is as risky as high and uncontrolled diabetes. Previously immunocompromised patients on cancer treatment or with autoimmune conditions are also vulnerable. Patients on steroids for other medical conditions can also be vulnerable. When the same COVID-19 patient is put on oxygen support, which has a humidifier containing water, the chances of him or her getting the fungal infection increase.
Fungal disease is already acknowledged but the cases are increasing because of COVID-19 related problems, wherein the use of steroids raises the sugar level in blood while some medicines result in suppression of immunity of patients. In such a scenario, the black fungus infects the patient easily and spreads.
If the fungus reaches the brain of the infected person, it can prove fatal. In one such case, one of the eyes of a patient had to be removed permanently to save his life. The hospital, which is managed by a trust, has been receiving several patients diagnosed with Mucormycosis who are being referred from various areas in Surat and other parts of Gujarat.
In Ahmedabad, at least five patients with mucormycosis are being operated upon every day at the civil hospital at Asarva. In Ahmedabad, doctors are receiving 5 to 10 such cases at the civil hospital, especially since the second wave of COVID-19 started. These patients are being examined on priority and operated on as early as possible.
Black Fungus generally affects COVID-19 recovered patients who have other comorbidities like diabetes, kidney or heart failure, cancer as well as patients who are on steroids or have had a transplant. However, it is most common in diabetic patients, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States.
Prior to the COVID era, Black Fungus was extremely rare and found only in immunocompromised people. However, coronavirus itself reduces immunity levels, largely affects diabetic people and is treated with steroids if serious. As a result, COVID survivors are vulnerable to the infection, especially in the severe second wave.
Early detection will aid the patient’s medication for the fungal infection and clinical intervention to the affected area. Usually, MRI scans determine the extent of damage the fungus may have caused. Mucormycosis, if left undiagnosed or untreated, may result in blindness, removal of the nose, jaw-bone or even death. So, all those COVID 19 patients having symptoms like one-sided facial swelling, headache, nasal or sinus congestion, black lesions on nasal bridge or upper inside of the mouth, fever, partial loss of eyesight, Pain under the eyes should get diagnosed without any delay and secure their lives.
BJP MLA Surendra Singh seen consuming cow urine in a video
BJP MLA Surendra Singh has claimed that consuming gomutra (cow urine) every morning on an empty stomach will “guarantee” protection from the novel coronavirus. The lawmaker from Bairia in Uttar Pradesh also shot a tutorial video on how to consume cow urine.
In the video, Singh, holding a bottle of Pantanjali’s cow urine, requests people to mix 50 ml of the cow urine in cold water and consume it every day to achieve a “natural immunity” from the virus.
Dr Mukesh Batra said, “Anything that is recommended should be clinically proven. I am not aware of any trials being conducted on cow’s urine to treat COVID. All COVID treatments should be carried out only under the supervision of qualified and registered medical practitioners. Follow COVID protocols to stay safe.
Dr Abhilash of Siddha Medicine said, “I don’t know why political leaders are making such irresponsible comments, but some studies have suggested consuming cow urine can have toxic effects as well as precipitate infections and serious health problems. Most prominent research institutions concerned with animal biology have no information on the record about the usefulness of cow urine.”
Dr Anshuman Manaswi said, “Drinking cow urine for prevention of COVID-19 has no scientific proven basis at all. In India we have far more opinion makers, the self-claimed doctors who make irresponsible statements which actually harms the patients by not allowing them to connect with doctors at the earliest. We’ll have to base our treatment only on evidence and wisdom. In absence of that what we suggest is only quackery. We all have all the regards for Ayurvedic medicines, but let the evidence come by the virtue of Large double blinded multicenter Randomized control trials. It is the only method how a remedy or medicine can be tested and then advocated. Those in public life should dissuade themselves from making irresponsible comments in these troubled times at least. He further stated that “many scientists have already debunked claims, including by Baba Ramdev, that cow urine can ‘cleanse’ a solution of a substance called betadine, a minor disinfectant. Ramdev et al have performed ‘experiments’ whereby betadine is added to a glass of pure water, causing the solution to turn reddish brown. When cow urine is added, the solution returns to its colourless state.”
According to D.N. Jha, a veteran historian, a concoction of organic products derived from the cow – milk, curd, clarified butter, dung and urine – called ‘panchagavya’ assumed a purificatory role in the medieval period. However, several Sanskrit texts delineating the dharma of Hinduism proscribe women from using it, and also claim that if a person of the lower caste drinks cow urine, they will be condemned to hell. Such customs only deepen the need to be skeptical of the role of cow urine vis-à-vis human health.”
Dr Deepak Chaturvedi said, “COVID-19 pandemic is a reality and its not wrong to say that mankind is facing a big crisis, challenge and threat. The irony in that there are many politicians and pseudo-intellectuals who are not restraining themselves from giving baseless and rubbish statements in the public. Many pseudo-intellectuals are labeling this pandemic as scam and influencing people to stay careless which is one of the reason why we are not yet able to break the transmission chain of this virus. Then come the great politicians of this country. They seem to have no hesitation in passing public statements to promote the consumption of cow urine as the remedy of COVID-19. This is utterly disgusting and shocking. Cow, indeed is very much respected and worshipped in Indian culture but does that really justify the extent these politicians or local leaders go to claim anything about the medicinal role of Cow urine or cow dung to fight this COVID crisis? These politicians don’t stop here. There is one super intelligent politician who claims that cow inhales oxygen and exhales oxygen. I really don’t understand how to react on this. Should I laugh or feel pity?
“This is my sincere request to all these political leaders and pseudo-intellectuals to refrain themselves from passing such baseless statements in public and avoid misleading them. We all should be responsible about what we are saying. Lets not take this pandemic lightly or as an opportunity to promote some cultural, religious or political belief. I would like to urge people of our country to not listen to these pseudo-intellectuals and politicians and not to get influenced by their claims about Cow urine, Cow dung, beating thali or lighting the diyas in this battle against COVID-19. Please stay vigilant and contact your doctor for any query. I would like to appeal to the government and honorable courts of our country to take stringent actions against the people who are spreading false information regarding this pandemic and claiming the miracle remedies for COVID-19,” Dr Chaturvedi added.
Dr Vishal Sawant said, “Our politicians have to understand that in these tough times people are vulnerable and they should make only verified statements. Also, to ignore medicine and science or to undermine it at these times will cause more fear and uncertainty in people. Medicine has clearly helped to save many lives in this pandemic. They want to advocate ways of increasing immunity they are free too as long as they are clearly proved methods. That’s would be helping people in a way but not this.”
#WATCH | BJP MLA from UP's Ballia Surendra Singh claims drinking Goumutra (Cow Urine) has protected him from coronavirus. He also recommended people to 'drink cow urine with a glass of cold water every morning'. pic.twitter.com/fvr4cVPK3W
In the video, BJP MLA Surendra Singh, holding a bottle of Pantanjali’s cow urine, requests people to mix 50 ml of the cow urine in cold water and consume it every day to achieve a “natural immunity” from the virus.
In the middle of India’s second wave, Singh said that he has been spending nearly 18 hours a day in public, and is still healthy and protected. Claiming that all scientific knowledge has failed in front of COVID, Singh said, “even after so much scientific advancement people are still dying in lakhs, so in this situation, people should remember god and do what older generations did to treat such things.”
SC sets up a 12-member National Task Force to facilitate public health response to pandemic 16
The Supreme Court on Saturday set up a 12-member National Task Force to facilitate a public health response to the pandemic based on scientific and specialised domain knowledge in view of a surge in COVID-19 cases in the second wave.
A Supreme Court bench, headed by Justices DY Chandrachud and M R Shah said that the rationale for constituting a task force at the national level is also to formulate a methodology for the scientific allocation of oxygen to states and union territories.
The bench said the Union Cabinet Secretary will be the convenor of the task force and may nominate an officer not below the rank of Additional Secretary to depute for him, when necessary.
The top court said in its order passed on May 6 uploaded on Saturday that the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will be ex-officio member of the task force.
The bench said that other members of the task force will be Dr Bhabatosh Biswas, Former Vice Chancellor, West Bengal University of Health Sciences, Kolkata; Dr Devender Singh Rana, Chairperson, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi; Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Chairperson and Executive Director, Narayana Healthcare, Bengaluru; Dr Gagandeep Kang, Professor, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu; and Dr JV Peter, Director, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
Five other members of the task force include Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairperson and Managing Director, Medanta Hospital and Heart Institute, Gurugram; Dr Rahul Pandit, Director, Critical Care Medicine and ICU, Fortis Hospital, Mulund (Mumbai, Maharashtra) and Kalyan (Maharashtra); and Dr Saumitra Rawat, Chairman & Head, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplant, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi. The bench said that Dr Shiv Kumar Sarin, Senior Professor and Head of Department of Hepatology, Director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Science (ILBS), Delhi and Dr Zarir F Udwadia, Consultant Chest Physician, Hinduja Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital and Parsee General Hospital, Mumbai, are the members of the task force.
For carrying out the above audit exercise for NCTD, the audit sub-group shall consist of AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria who is Professor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep and Dr Sandeep Budhiraja, Clinical Director & Director – Internal Medicine, Max Healthcare; and An IAS officer, each from the Union Government and GNCTD, not below the rank of Joint Secretary.
India has now geared up to battle COVID in children and toddlers. The number of children contracting COVID-19 in India is much rarer but children now account for more than a fifth of new coronavirus cases in states that release data by age, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It’s a statistic that may surprise many. Just one year ago, child COVID-19 cases made up only around 0.5 per cent of India’s total. Indeed, recent research suggests infections among kids are more common than public health authorities realized.
In the current COVID wave, doctors say many kids younger than 5 among patients. The most common COVID-19 symptoms observed in children include high fever, vomiting, diarrhea and headache. The ongoing COVID-19 surge is taking a toll on children’s health with several hospitals reporting a sharp rise in the number of children between the age of one and five landings up in hospitals. Unlike last year, the virus is affecting infants, with some as young as one-and-a-half months old getting admitted to hospital.
It’s also worth noting that for the vast majority of the pandemic, the age group with the highest case rates across the globe has been 18 to 24. This B.1.1.7 variant that’s becoming dominant in a lot of the country is more transmissible. It’s not clear if it’s mostly more infectious in kids. But at this point, it appears it’s just more transmissible in everyone, including kids.
Without any doubt, vaccination is playing a role in terms of the changing in the demographics of who’s getting infected. In many parts of the country, depending on how states track their data — 60 and older, 65 and older, 70 and older — very high scope of those populations in some places have been vaccinated.
As older portions of the population get vaccinated and we’re still seeing circulation, it just stands to reason that the kids who are not eligible for vaccination yet are going to make up a larger share of that pie. We should note that kids still represent a really small proportion of the worst-case outcomes.
Now, the part where that conversation about severity gets a little bit more complicated is yes, it is absolutely true that it’s less severe in kids than it is in adults, and particularly older adults. But it’s also not true to say that it’s completely benign in kids. Luckily, paediatric death is a fairly rare event. In kids, we have seen COVID infection, but it doesn’t seem to be as common as in adults.
There have been problems with data around this pandemic all along, including this particular situation. Standardized data about COVID-19 cases across the globe has been pretty hard to get. From early on, it seemed like the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies did not systematically regulate the different data that was out there.
As adults around the world scramble to get vaccinated against COVID-19, pharmaceutical companies are turning their attention toward one-quarter of the population that still has no available shots. Several pharmaceutical companies are doing clinical trials in adolescents or young children. Pfizer was already testing its vaccine in kids aged 12 to 15, and it just announced results showing that its vaccine works very well at preventing COVID in this age group.
Given that most kids are at low risk for complications from COVID, the need for a paediatric vaccine for the disease may not seem pressing. But scientists say the pandemic may never be fully controlled until kids are inoculated.
Traditionally, people think of children sharing viruses and then giving them to adults. And this seems like that dynamic is almost the inverse. The virus is spreading to the pediatric age group in the current surge. The number of children coming to the hospital with COVID-19 has increased five times as compared to last year.
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi, even has a three-month-old infant admitted to the ICU with COVID-19 and pneumonia. While doctors of the hospital are getting swamped with young children and teenagers, the most affected age group is between one to five years in this category.
Delhi reported the highest single-day spike with 17,282 new cases of COVID-19 and 104 deaths. A total of 1, 08,534 tests have been conducted with 15.92 per cent of people testing positive for the infection. At least 50 per cent of the children surveyed during the fifth round of serological surveillance in Delhi were found to have antibodies against COVID-19, indicating that children do have equal exposure and an adequate number of antibodies levels when compared to adults.
According to the doctors, the surge in cases can be attributed to the laxity in the behaviour of the general public over the last few days. While the severity in younger children is not very high, experts feel that adults in the family should continue following COVID-appropriate behaviour to ensure no one else is infected in the family.
