The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Saturday lashed out at the Centre for its handling of the COVID-19 situation in the country.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Saturday lashed out at the Centre for its handling of the COVID-19 situation in the country saying that the medical body is astonished to see "extreme lethargy and inappropriate actions" from the Union Health Ministry in combating the pandemic.
"IMA is astonished to see the extreme lethargy and inappropriate actions from the Ministry of health in combating the agonising crisis born out of the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic," read an official statement by the IMA.
Noting that the collective consciousness, proactive cognizance, and requests made by the IMA and other professional learned colleagues are put into the "dustbin", the association said the decisions are taken "without realizing the ground realities".
It further said that the IMA has been insisting on the need for complete, well planned preannounced national lockdown rather than a few states declaring complete lockdown ranging from 10 days to 15 days, so as to getting breathing time for the health care infrastructure to recoup and replenish both the material and manpower.
"Lockdown will break the chain of devastating spread," said the IMA, a national voluntary organisation of Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine in India.
"However, the central government had refused to head to implement lockdown resulting in the mounting of new patients beyond 4 lakhs every day and the number of moderate to severe cases are increasing to nearly 40 percent," the statement said.
Mentioning that "sporadic night curfews have not done any good", the IMA stressed: "Life is precious than the economy."
Considering the differential Covid vaccine pricing system as "unhumanistic", the IMA said the people of the age group between 18 and 45 years are forbidden to get the free vaccination from the central share of 50 percent and they are placed under the mercy of the state governments.
"The jeopardy of private practitioners and states to negotiate with manufacturers for pricing and stock resulted in exorbitant price rise and vaccine shortage."
Hitting out at the Centre for the acute shortage of medical oxygen across hospitals in the country, the IMA said that the crisis of oxygen is deepening every day and scores of people are succumbing to its mismatch supply and it is creating panic both among patients and fraternity.
Though there is enough production, it is often the distribution that is not proper, the IMA added.
The IMA later appealed saying, "as the time is running out with the impending crisis lest we deepen the crisis, solve it on a war footing".
"Though various mutants are identified yet the real hazard is not explained in actual terms. Dedicated experts shall be designated to study this and propose mitigation measures at the earliest," the IMA suggested.
It further demanded that the entire health care administration shall be revamped with Indian Medical Service (IMS) cadets who are well versed with the technical and administrative skill for effective execution of health care and also to establish a new integrated Ministry to serve in this pandemic with a dedicated, proactive, vibrant, innovative, and altruistic Minister and alleviate the fear of people by leading from the front.
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