‘Wake Up From Slumber': IMA Tells Health Ministry To Mitigate Covid Challenges, Calls For Complete Lockdown

Asserting the decisions are taken “without realizing the ground realities”, the IMA said the association has in the last 20 days been insisting on the need for complete, well- planned pre-announced national lockdown rather than few states declaring lockdown ranging for 10 days to 15 days.

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New Delhi: Reiterating on the need for “complete, well- planned and pre-announced national lockdown” to “break the chain of devastating spread” of the Covid-19 infection, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Saturday hit out at the Union Health Ministry stating it is “astonished to see the extreme lethargy and inappropriate actions” from the department in combating the agonizing crisis caused by the second wave of the pandemic.

Asserting the decisions are taken “without realizing the ground realities”, the IMA said the association has in the last 20 days been insisting on the need for complete, well- planned pre-announced national lockdown rather than few states declaring lockdown ranging for 10 days to 15 days.

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The IMA has posted the statement on its official Twitter handle, writing: “IMA demands the health ministry wake up from its slumber and responds to mitigate the growing challenges of the pandemic”.

Highlighting that the number of moderate to severe cases is increasing to nearly 40 percent, the association said the Centre had refused to implement the lockdown resulting in mounting of new patients beyond four lakhs every day.

“Lockdown will break the chain of devastating spread,” the IMA said in a statement, adding “sporadic night curfews have not done any good”.

Emphasizing that “life is precious than the economy”, the association said: “Wake up from slumber and respond to mitigate the growing challenges in covid pandemic.”

Stating that it demanded equitable, accessible, and affordable vaccination for all above 18 years based on scientific facts from April 6 onward, the IMA said after persistent call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his innovative qualities assured the nation, the vaccination drive was started from May 1.

“It is unfortunate, the ministry has failed to make the necessary required roadmap and ensure vaccine stock, resulting in the majority of the places where vaccination could not be rolled out for people above 18 years,” the IMA said.

“When the Prime minister notification is not implemented scrupulously, who is to be blamed?” the association added.

Considering differential Covid vaccine pricing system as “unhumanistic”, the IMA said: “The jeopardy of private practitioners and states to negotiate with manufacturers for pricing and stock resulted in exorbitant price rise and vaccine shortage” the association added.

The IMA while giving examples of eradication of smallpox and polio in 1997 and 2014 said it could only happen by adopting the universal free vaccination and not by differential pricing system.

“Why the central government is shedding its responsibility? Unless the government comes out and implements with willingness and steadfastness for equitable distribution, we will not be able the achieve the goal. Today for the last seven days no vaccine is available in small and medium private hospitals,” the association wrote.

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The IMA stated the “crisis of oxygen is deepening every day and scores of people are succumbing to Oxygen mismatch supply and it is creating panic both among patients and fraternity”.

“Though there is enough production, it is often the distribution which is not proper. Most of the private hospitals are not getting oxygen and in every public health care place patients are crowding and suffering to get oxygen in the needed amount,” the letter read.

“Even after 15 days of the crisis, the government is not seen at the forefront to solve these issues and resulting in people knocking at the doors of courts to get justice, resulting in judicial activism,” the association added.

The IMA further said the “health care professional oganisations are neither consulted nor the honourable Health minister in this whole pandemic had time to interact with modern medicine professional organisations to solve this issue. Imported oxygen concentrators and oxygen plants are yet to reach the beneficiaries”.

Raising questions over the government hiding actual Covid deaths, the IMA said: “Why are we trying to hide actual deaths? If the public comes to know about the actual deaths, their seriousness to adopt Covid-appropriate behaviours will rise”.

This comes as India reported 4,01,078 new Covid-19 cases, 3,18,609 discharges, and 4,187 deaths on Friday. The fatalities going over 4000 deaths makes another grim milestone of recording the highest ever Covid related deaths in a single day.