China, has been largely alienated from the rest of the world since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2019. It has not disclosed the exact number of affected people and deaths which is matter of grave concern. There have been reports that its indigenous vaccines have failed to work and they are procuring vaccines from European countries and also from India through the black market. World Health Organization (WHO) officials recently met Chinese scientists to ascertain the veracity of China’s data on the spread and progression of its outbreak.
India is already on high alert because the coronavirus isn’t only a human killer, it also asphyxiates the economy. Production facilities shut down and supply chains are crippled, causing humongous financial losses to the Government. Admissions in the armed forces had to be halted. All the problems that the virus brought caused tremendous geopolitical instability as well, because bilateral and multilateral trade was paralyzed. Also, an internally weak country can be attacked by malicious neighboring countries. India has witnessed two deadly waves and is now cautiously treading the path. During the second wave, there was an oxygen shortage for which it made no delay in ramping up the production and supply of the life saving O2 and manufacturing more cryogenic containers. India also bolstered its logistics system to ensure that oxygen reaches even the remotest parts of the country within a short time span. The pandemic was an unexpected blow and complete lockdowns were wrecking human lives and the system. While many advanced countries were still in nascent stages of developing a vaccine, India developed not one, but two vaccines in a relatively short period. Vaccination for children is ongoing in all Indian states. Not only did India vaccinate its own people free of cost, but also gave it to more than 70 countries, under its ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative. The Aarogya Setu app enabled people to find important information and get vaccinated without any hassle.
There are numerous messages circulating on social media about the new variant. Dr. Edmond Fernandes is a noted community health physician, author and founder of CHD Group and holds UNECOSOC Special Consultative Status. His office is headquartered at Mangalore, India. He shares his views on the new variant.
Dr. Fernandez says that it seems that the new variant has already passed off through India. Though we may see some episodes of viral sickness, much of it is just hype, nothing else. The physician informs that people who are vaccinated don’t come with serious problems and we can’t extrapolate another country in comparison to our own. It would be sensible for us to deal with Covid which is customised to Indian geography and policies.
Before the vaccines were rolled out there was no definitive treatment. After Anthony Fauci swore by the effectiveness of Remdesivir, and Former US President Donald Trump proclaimed the enduring benefits of Hydroxychloroquine – an antimalarial drug, the whole world was gripped in surreal hope and India was no exception. Needless to say, there was rampant black marketing of Remdesivir and India gave Hydroxychloroquine to many other countries, which almost depleted its own stocks. Then there was the anti parasitic drug Ivermectin and the Doxycycline combination theory, using which a doctor in Bangladesh claimed that he had successfully treated hundreds of COVID patients.
In Dr. Fernandez’s opinion there is no standard line of treatment. Remdesivir worked in only a very few people, so it definitely wasn’t the best line of treatment. Whenever a pandemic has struck, all kinds of permutations and combinations are tried. The Ivermectin and Doxycycline combination is also no gold standard of treatment. What needs to be seen is how each patient responds based on his/her physical condition and other co-morbidity within the patient. This makes it a bit difficult to find the right treatment. “If we are looking at one magic drug for the entire human race – that is not going to happen,” says the specialist.
In the virus, many saw potential business opportunities. The Patanjali Group, headed by Baba Ramdev, a spiritual teacher and yoga expert advocated the use of Giloy (Heart Leafed Moonseed), which he claimed can’t just cure Covid, but also cancer. Soon, there was a product called ‘The Patanjali Corona Kit’ which people thronged to buy. There were some other foolproof remedies suggested as well like homeopathy’s Arsenic Album 30, which many social organizations were seen distributing among people. The most intimidating of all though was the open encouragement of consuming Cow Urine by certain pro-government groups, which was an example of majoritarianism at its worst!
Dr. Fernandez says about Baba Ramdev and the other alternative medicines that whatever is coming from companies like Patanjali, without any pertinent scientific research needs to be regulated to an extent and the health ministry and other concerned ministries can work together to put these regulations in place. “The state and religion cannot be mixed, they are separate entities”, he asserts. The doctor is right because correct policies need to be implemented in India, when it comes to the use of alternative medicines like Ayurveda, Unani or Homeopathy. People just tend to believe advertisements and fall prey to marketing gimmicks.
The specialist further states that if a person is in a state of dying or if his respiratory system is failing then Homeopathy and Ayurveda will not work. Having said that there is no harm in exploring other branches of alternative science, but only till the person is in good health. If there is something good about Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Spiritual healing, Music therapy, then those can be integrated into treatment protocols in a systematic way. “It would be an opportunity for India to scale up with integrated sciences,” concludes Dr. Fernandez.
A former Chief Minister who is presently National Vice-President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shared his opinion about what the Government has learnt from the past and what would be the future course of action. The leader said that not just the Government, the people of India also have learnt that ‘Prevention is better than Cure’ and we need to take care of our health.
While China and other countries are still struggling and finding ways to combat the virus, India worked on the problem on a war footing, developed Covishield (SII) and Covaxin (Bharat Biotech) in a short span of time and today almost all of the citizens are fully vaccinated. “This was only possible because of our Prime Minister’s vision and action oriented approach,” said senior BJP leader Raghubir Das. To deal with any sort of crisis, India seems fully prepared today as it has a robust healthcare system, adequate production and supply of oxygen along with competent healthcare providers.
There have been reports of vaccinated people also contracting the virus; hence doctors say that it is important to take the booster doses. People have been informed through various mediums that the vaccine takes time to show its effect and people with co-morbidities like diabetes, asthma, bronchial issues, hypertension or heart ailments need to take special precaution and maintain a healthy lifestyle. India is alert and will not let the virus jeopardize things any further. Relevant and trustworthy information must be relied upon, as it’s always better to be safe than sorry. India cannot have more lockdowns, restrictions and disruption of business & trade as it has suffered a great deal and the recuperation has been extremely hard – for the Government and also its citizens.
[Fernando Zhiminaicela / Pixabay]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
Shaumik Samar Ghosh is an author, journalist and columnist currently based in India.
