A Coronavirus vaccine has entered the stage of human-volunteer trials in Seattle, US and in the UK it will happen somewhere in June
COVID-19 has been clouding most minds on this planet for months now. If you still don’t know about COVID-19, you’ve probably just landed from Mars. The most difficult and harmful thing at a time like this is misinformation and scant information, coupled with the lack of tools to handle the disaster. I’m not talking about the contagion but about the level of scaremongering that is not far from the horrifying 2011 sci-fi of the same name. More than 150 countries are battling with Coronavirus today and thousands of lives have been lost. A vaccine has entered the stage of human-volunteer trials in Seattle, US and in the UK it will happen somewhere in June. No conclusive medication has so far been approved by any global authority for treatment, though there have been sporadic reports, including from Jaipur and Delhi, of a “cure”. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has predicted a winter peak later this year with potential cases rising over the 500 million mark and casualties touching over 10 million by end-2020 or early 2021. So where does that bring us? We need to act now. The world woke up to the Coronavirus slower than it should have. The Chinese, Korean, Italian and Spanish lockdowns, the German border closure, French and other European responses and those of the UK, US, Canada and Australia, have all been delayed and partial.
The Indian Government, too, has been, in all honesty, a bit slow in reacting. We have adopted a “brake-and-go” approach. The recent step of involving South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations to jointly handle the problem, in view of porous land-borders like Europe, is a commendable step in the right direction. But more is needed. If the outbreak goes out of control, we could see an acute shortage of beds in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and High Dependency Units (HDUs).
One option could be the Government temporarily bringing all ICU beds under federal control, or at least monitoring their preparedness federally. State Governments have not been proactive on lockdowns. We still have allowance for gatherings in many States, whether for marriage ceremonies or in some places, even otherwise. All gatherings of more than five people should be banned, unless all of them live together in the same household. Still all the States have not closed cinemas, gyms or clamped down on public gatherings. This needs to be done fast. Restaurants need to follow the European lead of ensuring minimum one metre distance (preferably three metres) between customers, else they should be closed temporarily.
Work from home is still sporadically implemented and needs addressing. The Government also needs to ring-fence an emergency budget like the UK and the US to handle the crises. Both employees and employers need to be supported with additional and emergency provisions of sick pay so they can self-isolate quickly. Public information should be more widely disseminated. Handwashing and correct alcohol gel application needs to be taught to every household and the media has a vital role to play here. A blanket ban should, however, be imposed on any media/social media portal spreading misinformation. The public should be educated not to resort to panic reactions of hoarding food and other commodities. This will be counter-productive and lead to more chaos. All non-essential services like Outpatient Departments, elective surgeries and so on should be suspended in all hospitals across the country for two months. This should be done both to avoid any unnecessary public gathering and travel and to free up resources to tackle the worst. All educational institutions should be closed for at least two months. The most vulnerable — those over 70, diabetics, heart patients, those with dementia and immunodeficiency — should have protocols in place and preferably should be isolated for two months. A travel advisory should be issued to avoid all but the most essential travel, which should be clearly defined. Social security measures should be stepped up. Hoarding of any essential material and disinfectants should be acted against immediately to ensure free availability of disinfecting material to the public at reasonable rates and on subsidised rates or free for poor households. A federal disaster management department with daily public updates from the Prime Minister should be set up. This is the time for a daily “Jann ki baat,” not just a one-off address to the nation.
There is a saying in trauma care: “The treatment of bleeding is to stop the bleeding”. The same goes with COVID-19. “The treatment of Coronavirus is to stop it from spreading”. We are in the so-called “Golden Hour” of Advanced Trauma Life Support. But it won’t last long. The window is not more than 15 days. There’s no need to panic, only to act quickly, logically and responsibly. This is a war which people and Governments need to fight together. Of course there will be some losses which can be minimised by right action at the right time. Empowerment of masses through right education and their participation is the key to combat this. However the Government cannot leave it for the masses to fight it out either. A joined-up thinking is required.
(The writer is a UK-based International Healthcare Policy Expert)