FOLLOW SAFETY RULES AND TAKE ALL PRECAUTIONS
Follow COVID Appropriate Behaviors
Latest WHO COVID Myth Busters
I have read an interesting article interviewing Thyrocare Managing Director Dr. A Velumani. Many of his views resonated with me and I thought of capturing some main brainstorming points for us to be cautious with the infection spread and also rational in our thinking. These points would serve as a food for thought.
It’s true that cases are raising at alarming rate and many people are suffering. Being critical in our thinking would help us to have a practical perspective of what’s happening around us. Constant hammering of the infection numbers in media and forwards in Whatsapp will make us anxious and make us overwhelmed with the information. So choosing what to follow and unfollow is important.
Here are few questions which we need to ponder upon which are not only relevant to the current Second wave but also upcoming waves (hopefully not)
- Only infections per day are increasing, not deaths per day.
- Is that a new variant? Does the new variant spread faster, but is safer? Or is that new variant spreading faster and equally bad? – There is no study available and not data.
- In India, if we have seen deaths per day from 1,200 coming down to 100, was it purely lockdown? Or was it herd immunity? Or was it rapid antigen testing showing fewer numbers? Or was the RT PCR testing slowed down for a while?
- The testing is high because the infections are high? Or infections are high because the testing is high?
- There is an increase in the number of deaths from February first week to April first week. They are all deaths with COVID, but are they deaths due to ‘Only COVID’? There is no study available and not data.
- How many people are infected and asymptomatic? How can we identify asymptomatic people? How many people are having all symptoms and are not reporting to authorities? Overall count increases if we include this category of people.
- Death with COVID is not ONLY because of COVID? Is COVID causing these deaths? Or is it that additional deaths due to other health conditions are labelled as COVID? It is very important for us to understand so that the philosophies and policies of all government, administration, bureaucracy can be fine-tuned.
- Everybody is panicked. Some who tested positive, now their entire family is getting tested. Tests have become affordable, so testing is done more. More testing is done and positive cases are reported more, which is causing panic.
- More is tested, more is reported, but more deaths may not be because of Covid. Deaths could be with Covid positivity for various other comorbidities. Some of them may be labelled as Covid deaths. A careful analysis is very important at this stage to understand whether these deaths increase because of Covid or otherwise.
Hence, be rational in thinking and be cautious by taking necessary precautions. Be responsible and enjoy your rights. Respect others lifestyle decisions and do not be judgmental about their choices. Do not panic and become stressful by looking at the infection rate/numbers in TV, social media and message forwards.
As there is no concrete scientific data on how to control this pandemic, currently government and medical authorities are doing their best. Many medical experts and scientists are saying that controlling the pandemic needs a better scientific approach and it may take many more months to come up with an effective strategy. Till that time we need to be patient.
Take care of yourself, your family and help others in your capacity. If possible spread positivity around you and be optimistic that things are going to become better. The best we could do is to follow Covid Appropriate Behavior and try to make the most of our time with whatever is in our reach.
Reference article
*Do read the Disclaimer