New Delhi: Many lives could have been saved if containment strategies were implemented in time during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Parliamentary Committee on Health Affairs said this in its report. Along with this, the committee criticized the government for not being able to gauge the seriousness of the situation and said that after the first wave when the cases of Covid-19 registered a decline in the country, then the government had to catch the epidemic again in the country. should have continued its efforts to keep an eye on the threat of
More than five lakh people died
“The committee is unhappy that many states have been unable to deal with the uncertainties and emergency health situations that have arisen during the second wave, which has resulted in the death of more than five lakh people,” the report said. This report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, headed by SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav, was submitted to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The committee, in its 137th report, said that the second wave will undoubtedly include increasing cases of infection and death, lack of oxygen and beds in hospitals, lack of supply of medicines and other vital substances, disruption of essential health care services, oxygen cylinders, and medicines. Hoarding and black marketing etc. were seen.
Many lives could have been saved
The report said, “The committee is of the view that if the government had been able to identify the more infectious nature of the virus at an early stage and the prevention strategy was implemented appropriately, the consequences would have been less severe and many lives could have been saved.” Was.”
Poor health infrastructure and acute shortage of health workers
The committee found that India was among the countries most affected by Covid-19 in the world. The huge population of the country posed a big challenge during the pandemic. The committee noted that the country witnessed tremendous pressure due to poor health infrastructure and an acute shortage of health workers.
The government could not estimate the risk accurately
According to the report, the government could not accurately estimate the potential risk of the Covid-19 epidemic and its waves. The committee said that after the first wave, when the number of cases of Covid-19 in the country registered a decline, the government should have continued its efforts to keep an eye on the danger of re-emergence of the epidemic in the country and its possible outbreak. The committee said that the Health Ministry had directed the states to maintain vigil and prepare a strategy for any emergency arising out of the re-spread of COVID-19 in their respective areas.
Death due to lack of oxygen
The Parliamentary Committee has recommended to the Union Health Ministry to coordinate the audit of cases of “death due to lack of oxygen” especially during the second wave of COVID-19 so that there is proper documentation of death cases. May it be She said she expects more transparency and accountability from the government agency. The committee has recommended to the central government appeal to other countries of the world to conduct more research and study to identify the origin of Covid-19 and punish those found responsible for it.
