420 doctors died of COVID-19 during the second wave: IMA
Four hundred and twenty doctors have died due to the coronavirus infection during India's devastating second wave of the pandemic, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has said. As many as 100 of these fatalities were reported in national capital Delhi alone, according to the medical body. The capital city was followed by the northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Here are more details.
Ninety-six of these doctors were from Bihar while 41 died in Uttar Pradesh, the medical association said, according to ANI. The list also includes states like Gujarat (31 deaths), Andhra Pradesh (26), Maharashtra (15), Madhya Pradesh (13), Odisha (16), and Telangana (20). Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Jammu and Kashmir reported three deaths each, while two deaths each were reported in Goa, Haryana, Tripura, and Uttarakhand.
Earlier this week, the IMA had reported 270 doctors died of COVID-19 during the second wave. "The second wave of the pandemic is turning out to be extremely fatal for all and especially for the healthcare workers," IMA President Dr. JA Jayalal had said. Notably, IMA only keeps the record of its 3.5 lakh members while there are over 12 lakh doctors in India.
During the first wave of the pandemic, the number of doctors who died of COVID-19 was 748, according to the IMA's data. It also became a matter of controversy as the central government had pegged the number at only 162. The medical body had subsequently condemned the government's "apathy" and urged it to recognize the "hard work and contribution by our doctors."
The IMA President said they were not sure about the vaccination status of all the deceased doctors. He, however, stated that lack of full vaccination among doctors was the "main cause" of deaths. A recent study conducted across Max Hospitals showed that of the 13,965 staff members who received both the doses of the vaccine, only one person died of the coronavirus.
Coronavirus vaccination for healthcare workers has been underway for more than four months now. However, only 66% of health staffers have been fully vaccinated yet, according to the data from the Union Ministry of Health.
India faced the word's worst coronavirus outbreak over the past couple of months, reporting lakhs of new infections every day. Daily cases in India peaked at 4,14,000 just a few weeks ago. In the past 24 hours, the country logged 2.57 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases and nearly 4,200 deaths. Even though the infections are declining, experts have already warned of a possible third wave.
