India Faces Shortage of Covid Vaccine, Oxygen Cylinder & ICU Ventilator Amid Corona Surge
Delhi, 17 April 2021 – In an alarming surge in COVID cases, India is struggling with vaccines, COVID beds, and oxygens. To tackle this issue the center has unveiled plans to ramp up the output of indigenous vaccine, vaccine, 10 times to reach 10 crores doses by September and accelerate the manufacture of antiviral drug Remdesivir and also called for increasing the production of medical oxygen. In the wake of reports of shortage of medical-grade oxygen for COVID-19 patients in different parts of the country in the last few days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a comprehensive review to ensure its adequate supply and said steps should be taken to augment the production.
He also asked officials to ensure seamless and free movement of tankers carrying this commodity throughout the country. The center will also provide financial assistance of rupees 65 crores to Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited, Mumbai, a public sector undertaking under the Maharashtra government to manufacture vaccines. Well, the Prime Minister took it upon himself to speak with Chief Ministers of various states and take an update as to what kind of shortages are they facing amid this second wave of Coronavirus in the country.
And states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh have reported severe shortages of medical oxygen as well as a severe sure shortage of beds as well. In Delhi, the situation has been negated by acquiring banquet halls and converting hotels into medical facilities. But so far the same practice has not been repeated in other parts of the country. And the production of the vaccine has become another sore thumb for the government as people continue to fight and struggle to find the vaccine across the country.
As of now looking at the situation when the number of beds of the ICU has been increased by far last week, the data said that 80% of the beds have been occupied already, which contains the ICU wards. But right now and the number of beds and the numbers of ICU wards have been increased. Again 70% of it has been occupied already by the severe patients of COVID here in Mumbai. And again the bed increasing number of beds is still going on in the process. But again, we are seeing some defective oxygen cylinders coming in and some of the oxygen cylinders getting shared among those two to three different patients.
We have seen some very heartbreaking visuals from some of the hospitals in rural Maharashtra, especially from North Maharashtra, where we have seen that the patients were waiting outside the hospital. And then also they were not getting beds even after waiting for 12 to 13 hours. Their oxygen cylinders were also provided to them outside the hospital when they see their condition got serious. So again, we do not have enough oxygen cylinders and Mumbai and Maharashtra but of course, the number of beds has been increased. Whereas we can only hope for the people who are now getting beds will also get some of the right medicine and consultation from the doctors directly.
Whereas still people are struggling to get oxygen cylinders and the people who are also now recovering ventilators are also not getting in the right situation. Some of the doctors have also said that the defective oxygen which is also putting the people on the death is because the staff members are not prepared to use oxygen cylinders. They do not know the protocols and the procedures to use oxygen cylinders rightly and ventilators rightly that is the reason that such a defect is happening that is the reason that all of these situations are coming in Maharashtra whereas it puts a question on the health department again that whether the doctors or the nurses or the people from the healthcare workers are yet not prepared or yet not trained to see and handle such situations.
