-The Telegraph Health ministry asks for 15 samples each from five labs and five hospitals in every state every two weeks, which is less than the 5% prescribed for each state The Union Health ministry has asked each state to send 150 Covid-positive samples fortnightly for genome sequencing, deviating from the original target set by a national research consortium to genome-sequence 5 per cent of positive cases from all states. The move has...

-The Hindu Leveraging existing schemes and providing universal social security is of utmost importance India is one of the largest welfare states in the world and yet, with COVID-19 striking in 2020, the state failed to provide for its most vulnerable citizens. The country witnessed multiple crises: mass inter- and intra-migration, food insecurity, and a crumbling Health infrastructure. The extenuating circumstances of the pandemic has pushed an estimated 75 million people into...

-Article-14.com As India faces a catastrophic second wave and the government is largely prominent by its absence, thousands of ordinary citizens are stepping up to help with information, oxygen, hospital beds, crematoria and even performing last rites, regardless of religion. New Delhi: Ifrah Fatima, 26, an MBBS graduate in Hyderabad was “doomscrolling Twitter” on 18 April, feeling “utterly helpless” about India’s Covid-19 emergency, when an idea struck her. She posted on Instagram,...

-The Hindu The Health Ministry’s guidelines for managing COVID-19 ignore evidence, pricing, cost-effectiveness and social relevance. The Health Ministry released its first COVID-19 management guidelines about a year ago. The initial treatment guidelines included hydroxychloroquine, which led to panic buying of the drug. Little was known in those initial months. In the last one year, multiple studies have proven the lack of efficacy of hydroxychloroquine. While most practitioners have moved away from...

-The Hindu Business Line Kerala’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the subject of international conversation about public Health systems. Piloting Kerala’s fight against the pandemic is the State’s Health Minister and CPI(M)’s Central Committee member KK Shailaja who speaks exclusively to BusinessLine about the criticality of publicly-run Healthcare and how the need of the hour is to nationalise the system. Excerpts: * What are the lessons to be learnt from...