The State-Level Core Team on COVID-19 Management and Care in Rajasthan has effectively handled the aggressive nature of second wave of pandemic by managing the younger and paediatric population. But the adolescents, who have not been vaccinated so far, may be affected more in the subsequent waves, says Dr. Sudhir Bhandari, head of the Core Team and Principal of Sawai Man Singh Government Medical College, Jaipur.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put an unprecedented load on health facilities and stretched the infrastructure in Rajasthan to its limits. How can we ensure optimum utilisation of the available resources, including oxygen, and convince the people to make a judicious use of facilities available?
The second wave of pandemic has been very aggressive with more and more younger population and children being affected. Unlike the first wave, 60% to 70% of the moderate to severe patients are oxygen dependent and require critical care. To meet out this situation, we have created COVID-19 triage at our dedicated institutions, where we segregated mild or asymptomatic for home quarantine, while the mild to moderate are admitted to provide them medical support.
We have also conducted sensitisation programmes for doctors, paramedics and public at large for early reporting, optimal use of oxygen, proning and physiotherapy.
As the head of the State-Level Core Team on COVID-19 Management and Care, what was your remit and how have you helped the State government in identifying the key areas where action was needed?
Since the beginning of the first wave, we have been working intensely with our core team in various directions, such as building up infrastructure for COVID-19 patients, creating more oxygenated and ventilated beds and enhancing the capacity for RT-PCR testing. We started with zero test at Sawai Man Singh Hospital and raised to 10,000 tests per day. We are now capable of conducting more than one lakh RT-PCR tests a day in the entire State.
Our team was the first to use hydroxychloroquine and antiviral drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir in the first three Italian COVID-19 patients. The core team headed by me has effectively handled the aggressive nature of the pandemic’s second wave by managing the younger and paediatric population.
You were the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine dose in Rajasthan. Are there still apprehensions among the people about vaccination and have you succeeded in sending a clear message that our indigenous vaccine is safe?
I had the honour of being the first person in Rajasthan to get vaccinated. Since we were the first in many ways, such as using hydroxychloroquine and implementing the COVID management protocols, I wanted to boost the morale of the whole medical fraternity by taking the vaccine first and increase the acceptability by the public at large with the confidence that the vaccines are safe.
There are reports that people are contracting infection even after getting one or both the doses of vaccine. Does it mean that the vaccine does not provide full protection and the people should adhere to the COVID appropriate protocol?
It is true that even after two doses, people are getting infection. The vaccination only protects from critical disease and ventilation and one might still contact asymptomatic or mild infection. Therefore, the compliance with the COVID appropriate behaviour, especially wearing the face mask and maintaining distance, is a must even after vaccination.
What is the likelihood of a third wave of the pandemic hitting Rajasthan and the country?
As per the epidemiological studies, the third and fourth waves of the pandemic are predicted somewhere between September and December this year. They can also merge with the second wave. There is a possibility that the adolescents and children, who have not been vaccinated, may be affected more in the third wave, as the middle age and elderly population has been vaccinated to quite an extent.
