NEW DELHI: Health researchers, apparently under instructions from ICMR chiefs, removed a crucial part of the first national serosurvey study conducted to assess the true extent of the spread of Covid-19 before it was finally published, it has compiled this newspaper. The omitted data showed that between 15 and 48 percent of the populations sampled in containment zones in 10 hotspot cities had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection, several researchers involved in the survey told this correspondent. serological survey. The Ahmedabad containment zone had the highest level of seropositivity.
The ICMR-led survey, which was released earlier this month, nearly three months after its completion, showed a national level of seropositivity of just 0.73 percent, based on 28,000 samples collected from 70 districts.
After analyzing data from 70 districts and 10 major cities in May, the researchers sent their results to ICMR DG Balram Bhargava. They were told that mention of the containment zone data would have to be removed before the results can be published in the ICMR’s Indian Journal of Medical Research, said the sources, who requested anonymity. “We were told to remove the figures from the containment zones or not to publish the findings at all because there was no approval to publish the full document without specifying who permission was requested from,” said a source.
“We pushed for the full data to be published, but when it didn’t work out, we reluctantly agreed to go ahead with the first part of the survey thinking it was important that the article be peer-reviewed,” said the source. “Furthermore, some of us felt that the omission would be obvious and could generate pressure or independent questioning.” “The Center and the ICMR have been insisting that the national closure imposed in March had succeeded in reducing the spread of the disease and deaths, but the numbers from the hotspot cities did not fit that narrative,” said another source, adding that “there is no plan to publish the second part of the survey.” All efforts to reach out to Dr. Bhargava for his response were futile, as he did not respond to phone calls, nor did he respond to an email inquiry sent by this newspaper.
Independent experts expressed shock at what they called a clear case of violation of the “integrity of the investigation” by the ICMR. “This meticulous selection of data seems like a clear bet to help the story that the ICMR has been trying to sell,” said Dr. Amar Jesani, bioethicist and editor of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. “But the integrity of the research means that the sponsor of a research project cannot selectively publish one part of the data and not publish another part, whatever the consequences.”
Senior virologist Dr. T Jacob John said: “What happened with the CDC under the Trump administration, is happening with the ICMR in India, which also appears to be interfering with the science,” he said. “I feel like the ICMR will lose any credibility it has because of its politicization of health science and research.”
Mapping the spread of Covid
The researchers collected 28,000 samples from the districts, categorized on the basis of zero to high prevalence, in early May and 5,000 samples from 10 cities that contributed nearly 70% of the total Covid-19 cases in India in that. moment. These cities included Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Indore, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Surat.
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