Health

Late in May one afternoon, R Ramkumar, a 63-year-old resident of Madipakkam, felt seriously indisposed when he started experiencing mild dizziness without any warning signs. Hospitals were teeming with COVID patients at this time, and the family did not want to expose the senior citizen to unnecessary risk. After brief deliberation on the matter, they decided to go for teleconsultation with a doctor and did so through Practo, a medical portal that connects patients with doctors for meeting various healthcare needs. Upon the doctor’s advice, the family did an instant blood glucose level test with the equipment available at home.…

According to experts, a mutant variant of SARS-Cov-2, B.1.617.2 — now named Delta variant — was a major reason that led to the devastating second wave across the country. First identified in October in India,  it is now the dominant variant in the country, responsible for 80% of new cases. “It travelled from south to north along the western states — from Kerala to Kashmir, before spreading to the central and eastern states,” says Dr N K Arora, chairman of the COVID working group under the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI). The Delta variant has mutations in its…

During the first week of June 2021, the daily bulletin from the Department of Health and Family Welfare(DHFW), Karnataka, was still reporting 300+ COVID deaths per day for Bengaluru Urban district. The corresponding daily positives was around 3500-4000. The general feeling was that the worst was over and things had eased up. But these numbers suggested otherwise, a fatality rate of close to 10%! A closer look at the "DOD" (Date of Death) column of Annexure-2 of the bulletins, however, showed that a lot of these 300+ COVID deaths were being back-counted from May, and some even from April. For…

The world is still grappling with the onslaught of COVID-19, its aftermath and its impact on global health and economy. Even after more than a year since it first surfaced, there are several things that we do not know about COVID-19 yet. While it has claimed many lives, it is also true that innumerable people have come out of COVID-19. But in some cases, post COVID complications have proven to be complex, lingering, even debilitating ─ impacting the daily life of recovered patients. In extreme cases, post COVID illness has proved to be fatal. Not only has this affliction altered…

“Healthcare in the city (BBMP) has been found wanting during the pandemic.” That was the first salvo fired by Deputy Chief Minister C.N Ashwath Narayan, who also heads the state’s COVID Task Force, to pin the entire blame for the failures in COVID management during the second wave on the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The second salvo was the proposal to divest the BBMP of all its public health responsibilities, including COVID management, and create a separate Bengaluru Health Directorate under the Department of Health and Family Welfare. This exposes the confused thinking of the state government. Such a…

“There is no blanket figure given as daily COVID testing target,” says Rajendra Cholan, Special Commissioner (Health) at BBMP. “Testing numbers are decided based on a formula given by the state TAC (Technical Advisory Committee) for COVID”. Even as the second wave hit its peak during April-May, Bengaluru urban clocked only around 30,000-40,000 tests per day, (it was 20,000-30,000 before the start of the second wave), despite experts recommending an increase in test numbers which perhaps could have identified and isolated asymptomatic persons quicker and reduced the spread. Cholan added that it was not a question of randomly testing one…

In the last week of May, a 42-year-old male reached out to mental health experts at BMC's helpline for help. He was sorrowful and was feeling demoralised, he said. “He said that for two-three days he has been hearing news about his neighbours and extended families either falling sick or dying due to the coronavirus," said, Dr. Shubhangi Parkar, a city-based psychiatrist and a former head of the psychiatry department, KEM Hospital. "With all the negativity around, he had completely lost hope in life,” she added. Representational Image (Pic: Canva) Many citizens who are undergoing mental health issues due to…

In mid-May, R Shanthi, a resident of CIT Nagar, tested positive for COVID-19 and isolated herself at home. In her 50s, Shanthi had mild symptoms that included fever and cough. It was a time of great anxiety and stress, but what kept her reassured to an extent were the phone calls that she received every second day, from the doctor deputed at Chennai Corporation’s zonal telemedicine department. Telemedicine has indeed been a boon for many patients like Shanthi battling the virus at home. Ever since the pandemic took centre stage, access to medical consultation for both COVID and non-COVID patients…

Translated by Sandhya Raju கோவிட்-19 தொற்றுக்கு எதிரான போராட்டத்தை வெல்ல தடுப்பூசி மிக அவசியம் என தற்போது பரவலாக ஒப்புக்கொள்ளப்பட்டாலும், இந்தியாவின் பெரும்பாலான நகரங்களில் தடுப்பூசி போட்டுக்கொள்வதில் மந்த நிலையே காணப்படுகிறது. எட்டப்பட வேண்டிய இலக்கை விட தினந்தோறும் தடுப்பூசி எண்ணிக்கை குறைவாகவே உள்ளது. மற்ற நகரங்களைப் போன்று சென்னையிலும் கடந்த ஜனவரி 16-ம் தேதி தடுப்பூசி தொடங்கப்பட்டது. முதல் கட்டமாக முன் களப்பணியாளர்கள், பின்னர் மூத்த குடிமக்கள், பின் 45 வயதுக்கு மேற்பட்டவர்கள் என பல்வேறு கட்டங்களில் தடுப்பூசி போடும் பணி மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டது. மே மாதம் முதல் 18 வயது மேற்பட்டவர்களுக்கும் தடுப்பூசி போடப்படும் என அறிவிக்கப்பட்டது. ஆனால், நோக்கம் சரியாக இருந்தாலும், கள நிலவரம் வேறாக உள்ளது. தடுப்பூசி இருப்பு மற்றும் நிலை கோவிஷீல்ட், கோவேக்சின் என இரு பிரதான தடுப்பூசிகள் தற்போது போடப்படுகின்றன. மூன்றாவதாக, ரஷ்ய தயாரிப்பான ஸ்பட்னிக் சில தனியார் மருத்துவமனைகளில், ஒரு டோஸ்…

And so, here we are, in yet another lockdown. The results are encouraging. The chain of transmission seems to be weakening, at least in Chennai, where the numbers have fallen precipitously. That is by itself a reason for commending the initiative. But what after the lockdown is lifted and we all go back to our normal activities to the extent possible? What happens when markets, shopping malls, places of entertainment, gyms, hair and beauty saloons, public transport and offices open up again? After all, they cannot be kept closed forever, can they? What then if the COVID numbers rise again?…