Risk for doctors in line of pandemic duty

The ministry said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that it did not have data on the number of doctors who have died across the country due to Covid-19.

Image used for representational purposes (File photo)

How many doctors in India have succumbed to Covid-19 since its outbreak in 2020? Well, the Central government says it doesn’t know. But the Union Health Ministry and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) are clearly at cross-purposes over the issue.

The ministry said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that it did not have the data on the number of doctors who have died across the country due to Covid-19, the IMA, which has more than 3 lakh doctors as members, said more than 1,600 doctors, have succumbed to the infection. IMA national president Dr Sahajanand Prasad Singh told Kavita Bajeli-Datt they have prepared an entire list of doctors --- described as Covid warriors and feted by the Centre --- who have died.

Fate of medical students hangs in balance

• The National Medical Commission (NMC) has not given any permission to transfer or accommodate any foreign medical students, including those who have returned from Ukraine, in any Indian medical institute or university, the Centre has informed the Rajya Sabha
• 20,000 Indian students, mostly studying MBBS, returned from Ukraine after the war broke out there
• Foreign medical students are either covered under Screening Test Regulations, 2002, or Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021
• There are no provisions in the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, and the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, nor in the Regulations, to accommodate or transfer medical students from foreign institutes to Indian colleges

Centre’s bit for covid warriors
Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, govt had provided insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh to health care providers, including community health workers and private health workers, at risk of Covid infection.