I write this even as I am recovering from COVID19. But I must consider myself lucky since I’ve been able to treat myself at home and even found medicine with relative ease. By the second day of my symptoms however — the chemist nearby had run out of Crocin (a standard over the counter paracetamol). And as the days progressed, the situation seems to be worsening.
The chart above shows India’s daily infection count based reported cases by the 24th of April — India had crossed over 300,000 daily cases. One shudders to imagine the scale of under reporting in a country like India. As the numbers ran up and hospital beds ran short, the desperate search for beds turned into a desperate search for oxygen.
Reflecting the dire shortage — searches for ‘Oxygen’ went up 60X since the 5th of April
This is a sad reflection on the state of affairs. Never did I think that our greatest problem in tackling the pandemic would be a shortage of oxygen.
One of the more curious things about this second wave is the high positivity rate, with labs in Kolkata reporting positivity rates upwards of 50%. Unlike the first wave, when we had all heard of someone infected, in this second wave almost everyone you speak to is personally affected. A close family member or friend has tested positive or undergoing treatment.
As the spike in searches for keywords such as ‘COVID’ and ‘VACCINES’ will tell you, people are willing to get vaccinated — they’re looking for options.
But where health infrastructure and government preparedness have fallen short — the private sector is stepping up. If there was ever reason to redeem your cred points — this is it. If you’re looking to help then a host of people have come together to fill in the gaps exposed by the health infrastructure in India. Both the Hemkunt foundation and Mission oxygen are doing great work. Please contribute if you can.
I hope you all stay safe & indoors. Wishing everyone good health.
Thanks for your time,
- Aman
aman@kalagato.co
www.kalagato.co
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