BENGALURU: As we draw to a close on the third year of the Covid era while it continues to affect the health and well-being of Indians, let’s look back at the health events that marked this year 2022.
In January and February, the country was reeling with the third wave of Covid-19 and at its peak, the wave involved the highest weekly number of cases and nearly the highest weekly number of deaths of the entire pandemic.
But thanks to the 5T plan (testing, tracking, tracing, triaging and technology) to tackle Covid-19 along with an enhanced vaccination drive, it controlled the pandemic and by March 2022, India had just 22,487 cases across the country. International flights resumed on 27 March ’22 after a gap of two years.
Subsequently, Covid-19 caused fewer disruptions in people’s lives, making it possible to resume pre-pandemic activities like travel, attending large events, resuming physical consultations and attending school and colleges in person.
There was a steady decline in the number and severity of cases and the economy was progressing towards the pre-pandemic levels. However, in July ’22, the outbreak of Mpox (formerly, monkeypox) created some panic among the public but thankfully did not cause much concern as preventive measures along with vaccination for at-risk populations caused a steady fall in the incidence of Mpox in India.
There are numerous lessons to be learnt from this pandemic for improving the healthcare system. The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the weaknesses of global and national health systems. The ever-struggling healthcare systems shifted their resources to the pandemic response and this aggravated the burden on people with noncommunicable diseases by delaying and disrupting their diagnosis, treatment and care.
The demand for telemedicine and AI-assisted decision-making tools existed before the pandemic, but the pandemic accelerated their progress. The role of technology is becoming increasingly prominent in supporting the physician’s clinical decision-making as well as helping patients access medical services. It will eventually play an even greater role in shaping the future of health systems.
Healthcare delivery in India has witnessed a renewed focus on adopting digital technology during the pandemic. Teleconsulting guidelines combined with the ever-increasing health technology startups have evolved to make the healthcare journey better for the Indian population. The new normal in the healthcare ecosystem will be about how healthcare delivery will innovate in the coming decade and what it means for both patients and healthcare providers.
It is still unknown what may come next in relation to Covid-19 - how many cases will continue in the community, whether there will be new waves or new variants, and whether new vaccines or treatments will be more effective than those currently available.
While the current strain of Omicron BF.7 is creating havoc in China, let’s hope that the situation in India will not worsen considering our country’s vaccine coverage and the natural immunity which we have developed over the past three years.
However, it’s imperative for us to follow the guidelines laid down by the government in early detection, isolation, testing and timely management of suspected and confirmed cases to detect and contain Covid-19 outbreaks, as well as stay up to date with the recommended vaccinations. Also, it’s important for people to follow healthy lifestyles, be physically active, get enough sleep and make healthy choices at school and workplaces to prevent chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.
Let’s hope 2023 will be a healthy year for Indians as India takes on the G20 Presidency and we can expect a major revolution in healthcare.
(The writers are senior consultant - internal medicine & senior consultant - critical care, respectively, Fortis Hospital, Richmond Road, Bengaluru)