Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that while the whole world was eagerly awaiting a Covid-19 vaccine, it was important that a VIP category not be created in India for delivery. He said crown warriors and vulnerable citizens should be at the top of the priority list for vaccine administration, which should not be “political” in nature.
“There should be no VIP or non-VIP category for vaccine delivery. We are all the same and everyone’s life is important. We should vaccinate Crown Warriors first so that they can serve the infected with greater confidence and vulnerable citizens should be next in priority, followed by people with comorbidities. We should have categories that are technical in nature rather than political in nature, ”Kejriwal said, making it clear that the vaccination strategy may be outlined by the Center at the national level.
He made the comments while chatting with HT Executive Editor Kunal Pradhan for the 18th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Friday night.
Commenting on the uncertainties facing this fight against the coronavirus, the Prime Minister of Delhi added that efforts to contain the disease have had to face unique challenges as the properties of the virus remain largely unknown.
‘No VIP for vaccine’: Kejriwal’s appeal amid Covid pandemic # HTLS2020
Citing an important example, he said that Sero surveys conducted in the capital yielded findings showing that people with Covid-19 antibodies, considered a measure of the prevalence of the disease, have decreased over time. He said that experts now say that Covid antibodies decline or die after some time in recovered patients.
“The Sero surveys that are being carried out now reveal a lower percentage of people with Covid-19 antibodies. It is a very surprising find. Doctors now claim that people lose antibodies after a couple of months of recovery. No one knew this Covid character before. “
The results of the fourth round of serological surveys show that 25.5% of the approximately 15,000 people tested in the capital had Covid-19 antibodies. The tests were carried out in the third week of October. The results are almost identical to those of the third round, which covered around 17,000 people, conducted in the first week of September, which showed that the antibodies were present in 25.1% of the people surveyed. The second round (about 15,000 were analyzed in August) showed that 29.1% of the people surveyed had antibodies. And the first round, in late June and early July, found them in 22.6% of the 21,000 people surveyed.
Kejriwal, however, said that until now, there was no evidence that people were infected twice. He added that experts do not know if cured people can become re-infected after losing their antibodies.
“Corona was a new virus for everyone, while some said it lasted 10 days; others said 14 days. Even now, people don’t really understand it. We see mild cases without symptoms and on the other hand, there are several of those patients, who develop a patch in their lungs due to the disease, which lasts more than four months, “he said.
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Kejriwal said the disease’s high infection rate was its most challenging aspect.
“The infection rate for this disease is more challenging. This disease spreads so rapidly that if you are not on tiptoe all day, you suddenly realize that your structure is collapsing, ”said the CM.
He said they learned from experiences around the world to realize that the healthcare infrastructure would easily collapse if all Covid-19 patients were hospitalized, which is where the concept of home isolation proved to be a breakthrough in managing Covid-19 disease.
“If you don’t manage the spread of the disease and the treatment of patients well, the situation will become explosive. We saw examples from various countries and we realized that if all these patients came to our hospitals, then our hospitals would not be able to serve, ”he said, adding that the home isolation strategy also helped reduce the number of deaths.
He also said that the nationwide lockdown was imposed at the right time and gave governments time to prepare health infrastructure to deal with Covid-19.
Also read: HTLS 2020: ‘Congress has collapsed as a national party’: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
He also gave credit to the so-called Delhi Model – testing, tracking, monitoring – touted as one of the best for containing Covid-19.
“The main components of the Delhi model survive even today. We have been able to control the disease thanks to the same principles. Despite 8,593 Covid-19 cases seen on November 11 in Delhi, if we are able to cope with the number of ICU beds and units (that we have available), then it shows that the fundamentals of that Delhi model are still in place. working, “he said.
Also read: HTLS 2020: Delhi’s Covid fight didn’t start from scratch, but we’ve done well, says Kejriwal
Kejriwal also ruled out any complacency in the government’s approach despite pressure from different sectors who could not foresee the return of waves of the disease to the capital.
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