FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
GMC has enough oxygen!
The GMC Dean along with two other doctors, claim there is enough oxygen available at GMC and that wrong information is being given contrary to the same. As such patients are not coming to GMC and getting critically ill.
Well and good, if this is true. Medical oxygen is a common but critical requirement for any hospital.
First off, patients were refused admission for want of beds: they were kept on the floor.
Enough oxygen means, the Doctors know: How much oxygen a COVID patient needs at all stages of infection, how many patients requiring oxygen will be admitted in the next 30 days and how many patients requiring oxygen will be waiting for oxygen in the imminent 3rd wave. They have day-by-day schedule of oxygen demand for the next 30 days and of the tanker and cylinder movements. They check the purity of all medical oxygen to ensure that it is not medical air. All this is simple math and the public would like to see the workings, not just words. We know how the govt, is expert at solving problems by merely ‘speaking them away. We saw it with regards to Mhadei water diversions, with this pandemic too that there is nothing to fear. Hospitals use medical air for: Calming patients before surgery, for operating ventilators and calibration of medical instruments. The public would also like to know at what flow rates critical COVID patients were treated and how many were cured. WHO says those with cytokine shock need 60 LPM medical oxygen. The present number of deaths at the GMC means it is time to ask WHO to step in.
R Fernandes, Margao
National politics needs crucial ‘reset’
As this second wave of coronavirus continues to annihilate us, I hope we as a nation realise how little we have invested in healthcare and education. All the government has been squandering our scarce resources on are more statues, more temples and more bigotry .There are a million Ambedkar statues in India, a giant Sardar Patel statue in Gujarat, a humungous Shivaji statue planned off the Mumbai coast, and the Ram Mandir scheduled for completion in 2024 (coincidentally just in time for the general elections).We have over 22 lakh temples, innumerable masjids and zillions of memorials dot the landscape, but of what use have they been in the fight against CORONA ? Zilch!!
India's budgetary allocation for healthcare has been a measly 1% of GDP while ideally it should have been hitting 6%; a similar story unfolds when we glance at the education sector. All the Centre's efforts have been geared towards Hindu-Muslim, mandir-masjid, shamshaan-kabrastan, mandal-kamandal, polarisation along caste and identity fault lines and other such insidious objectives; taking care of the aam janta has only been incidental if not deliberately neglected. The recent defeat of the BJP in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu ushers in a ray of hope for the country, the voters have unequivocally communicated that they want life and livelihood and not religion and muscular nationalism. 'New India' needs the double engine of education and healthcare to propel progress. A crucial ' reset' is required in national politics , the old tropes of caste, creed and religion are way past their sell by date ; the real issues which have a bearing on the well being of the populace need to be addressed, and addressed fast . In these trying times, succour was found by the citizenry in hospitals and doctors during COVID, not in departed souls and structures cast in stone. This is an inflection point in our collective history, instead of 'mandir wahin banaengey' we the people should insist on 'hospital/school wahin banaengey' for that would also be a fitting tribute to the memory of the COVID dead and the way forward to a brighter, healthier, progressive and more inclusive nation ; truly ' sabka saath, sabka vikas'. We need a new grammar, a new syntax, a new vocabulary and a new rhythm to write the next chapter of ' The Great Indian Novel'.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Take steps to save people
The HC appreciation of the state government efforts in improving the oxygen supply in the State should not be taken as a certificate of merit. The fact remains that the administration has failed its citizens, with precious lives having been lost before remedial action was taken. But of course, those who perished had no relation to the State government officials so it wouldn't matter to them. Anyway, one hopes better sense prevails upon the government and they take all necessary steps to save the people from COVID. And now, they have to handle the wreckage caused by Tauktae before heading towards Gujarat. Heavy rains and gusty winds have caused damage to life & property all around. But we are not done yet with the second wave of COVID 19. The HC has rightly warned of the third wave which seems imminent not just in Goa but in other parts of the country as well. We all need to brace up and prepare to face this reality. It seems like only God can save the world from such disasters, but of course we need to carry out our responsibility as well.
Melville X. D'Souza, Mumbai
Force people to follow SOPs
The second wave of coronavirus has hit the country so badly that according to statistics, it is more lethal than the first wave. Highest number of confirmed cases and deaths on a daily basis has brought the healthcare system under severe stress as there is shortage of ventilators, oxygen and basic medical resources. The virus has spread rapidly, as the people did not take proper precautions by following SOPs and wearing face masks and the situation turned ugly due to official permission given to observe festivals, political rallies and mass gatherings. The government must form special teams and should visit public places and force people to follow proper SOPs and punish those who don’t observe safety measures. The Health Ministry should also keep an eye on different hospitals to check if they are handling the emergency cases properly. Wearing of face masks should be made mandatory for all and those (ministers and politicians included) found without face masks should be fined heavily. We should also be prepared to tackle the third wave so that it doesn't affect us or our families.
Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai
Covishield dose gap widened
The ever changing recommended time interval between the 1st and 2nd dose of Covishield vaccination is in total confuse. The revised time interval, however, is not applicable to Covaxin. India is currently using only these two vaccines for its inoculation programme. The gap between two doses of Covishield is increased 3rd time from 4 to 6 to 12 weeks now. It shows that government putting people’s lives at risk by using them as test subjects by injecting non-proven vaccine whose trials are still incomplete. Many are also still confused and apprehensive about the jabs due to a lack of requisite information and peer-reviewed studies of the vaccines. The next recommendation will be that 'No need of 2nd dose, they have suspend the second dose saying studies have found its unnecessary'. When the nation continues to battle the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, BJP MP Pragya Thakur has claimed cow urine can treat lung infection brought on by Coronavirus. In essence the government may be trying to convey the public that the efficacy is lower for all those who were vaccinated with the 2nd dose in 6 weeks.
K G Vilop, Chodan
