Syed Khalique Ahmed | India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—After the global medical journal The Lancet accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being more interested “on removing criticism from Twitter than trying to control the Pandemic”, the Opposition Congress has sharpened its attack, stating that the “country is paying a horrendous price for the Modi government’s neglect of the pandemic”. The Congress also accused Modi government of “willful patronage of super-spreader events that were allowed for partisan gains”. Former Union Home Minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram demanded “public apology” from the Modi government and resignation of Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan. Earlier, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate had asked for resignation of the health minister and appealed PM to dismiss Dr. Vardhan if he does not resign.
In a strong criticism of the Modi government’s policies with regard to containing COVID-19, The Lancet editorial said, “Modi’s actions to stifle criticism and open discussion during the crisis are inexcusable”.
Coming down heavily on the Modi government, the journal said that the government allowed huge gatherings at religious festivals (read Kumbh at Haridwar) and political rallies, without observing COVID-19 norms. “Despite warnings about the risks of superspreader events, the government allowed religious festivals, drawing millions of people from around the country, along with huge political rallies-conspicuous for their lack of COVID-19 mitigation measures,” the journal remarked.
This, according to the journal, indicated that the threat of COVID-19 was over and this also slowed down vaccination campaign. What happened was that vaccination plan fell apart at the national level. The Centre also abruptly changed its policy of vaccination without discussing the issue with the states about vaccinating everyone above 18 years, resulting into mass confusion.
In a very harsh criticism of Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the editorial said that when the hospitals were flooded with COVID patients, when health workers were becoming infected and social media was full of desperate people (doctors and public) seeking medical oxygen, hospital beds and other necessities, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan declared that India was in the “endgame” of the COVID infection. “The impression from the government was that India had beaten COVID-19 after several months of low case counts, despite repeated warnings of the dangers of a second wave and the emergence of new strains”,” the journal said.
According to the journal, the government statistics “falsely” suggested that “India had reached herd immunity, encouraging complacency and insufficient preparation, but a sero-survey by the Indian Council of Medical Research in January had suggested that only 21 per cent of the Indian population had antibodies against COVID-19.”
“At times, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has seemed more intent on removing criticism on Twitter than trying to control the pandemic,” the editorial said in a sarcastic manner.
Referring to the estimates given by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the journal said that the death count due to COVID-19 in India might go up to 10 lakhs by August 1 this year. “If that outcome were to happen, Modi’s government would be responsible for presiding over a self-inflicted national catastrophe”, the journal said in a strong criticism. It must be pointed out here that COVID-19 deaths have already crossed a figure of 2 lakhs in India.
Stating that the government squandered its early success in controlling COVID-19, the editorial said that government’s COVID task force did not meet even once until April this year. The consequences are that COVID infection is increasing. It advised the government to “restructure” its response and take fresh measures while the crisis goes on. “The success of the effort will depend on the government owing up to its mistakes, providing responsible leadership and transparency, and implementing a public health response that has science at its heart,” the editorial remarked.
It said that while some of the statee like Kerala and Odisha were better prepared and able to produce enough medical oxygen to supply it even to other states, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were unprepared for spike in cases, running out of medical oxygen, beds and even cremation spaces. It criticised government of Uttar Pradesh, saying that some state governments threatened use of national security laws against those asking for hospitals beds and medical oxygen.
The editorial suggested the government to initiate two-pronged strategy to curb the pandemic: First, to rationalize and speed up the “botched” vaccination campaign by increasing vaccine supply and improving distribution system “that can cover not just urban but also rural and poorer citizens, who constitute more than 65 % of the population (over 800 million) but face a desperate scarcity of public health and primary care facilities.” It also advised the government “to work with local and primary health care centres that know their communities and create an equitable distribution system for the vaccine.”
The second: it advised the government to curb transmission of the coronavirus infection while vaccination continues. It also counselled the “government to publish accurate data in a timely manner and forthrightly explain to the public what is happening and what is needed to bend the epidemic curve, including the possibility of a new federal lockdown”. It also advised to expand genome sequencing o better understand the new and more transmissible coronavirus variant. It advised the Central government to explain to public the necessity of masking, social distancing, halting mass gatherings, voluntary quarantine and testing.
