Lancet criticizes Modi govt's Covid response

The Lancet in a report published earlier this month said that the Indian government's premature celebration after the first COVID-19 wave, its failure to prepare for the second wave and bad planning have all put India in the crisis it is facing today.

Hyderabad: Reputed medical journal The Lancetin its latest editorial has severely criticized the Modi government for its handling of the virus in the country. "India squandered its early successes in controlling COVID-19," the journal stated referencing the stark contrast in handling the first and the second wave of the virus.

With over four lakh cases being detected daily, India has reported more than 22 million cases to date and a death count of more than 222000, which experts believe are likely to be substantial underestimates, said the editorial. It further said that despite repeated warnings of the dangers of a second wave and the emergence of new strains, the govt was of the impression that India had beaten COVID-19 with the Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan even declaring that India was in the “endgame” of the epidemic.

But despite all the tall claims by the government, hospitals across the country have been overwhelmed with new cases every day. Even medical professionals haven't been spared, with many losing their lives to the virus. With common people turning to social media for help and to question those in power, the editorial says that at times "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government has seemed more intent on removing criticism on Twitter than trying to control the pandemic."

The Lancetin a report published earlier this month said that the Indian government's premature celebration after the first COVID-19 wave, its failure to prepare for the second wave and bad planning have all put India in the crisis it is facing today.

The Modi government also drew flak from the publication over allowing, despite warnings, religious festivals to go ahead, drawing millions of people from around the country, along with huge political rallies—conspicuous for their lack of COVID-19 mitigation measures.

In its earlier report, 'The Lancet' said that massive public gatherings in view of Assembly elections in four states and a union territory, and the Kumbh Mela where millions of people turned up for prayers and a dip in the river Ganges were primarily responsible for the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The editorial said that the govt's mixed messaging on the pandemic has also led to a slowdown in the country's vaccination process. "At the federal level, India's vaccination plan soon fell apart. The government abruptly shifted course without discussing the change in policy with states, expanding vaccination to everyone older than 18 years, draining supplies, and creating mass confusion and a market for vaccine doses in which states and hospital systems competed."

Recommending a "two-pronged strategy", the publication has advised the Modi government to "rationalise and implement" its "botched vaccination campaign" with all due speed and reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission as much as possible while the vaccine is rolled out.

With the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimating a staggering 1 million deaths in India due to Covid-19 by August, the Lanceteditorial states that if the grim prediction becomes a reality, "Modi's Government would be responsible for presiding over a self-inflicted national catastrophe."

India must now restructure its response while the crisis rages. The success of that effort will depend on the government owning up to its mistakes, providing responsible leadership and transparency, and implementing a public health response that has science at its heart, said the editorial.