21 Lancet experts give 8 recommendation to India to prevent Covid Resurgence

The intensity of the second wave of covid in India seems to be gradually decreasing. India was hit by second covid wave in April and May which totally broke the health system and many people lost their lives. Meanwhile, the number of deaths due to corona had doubled in many states. A third wave of covid is expected in the next few days, experts say. Against this backdrop, the Lancet magazine has given eight important points of advice to India to fight against Covid. Also, India needs to take immediate action against covid, said Lancet experts. 

Last year, the Lancet's Citizens Commission set up a panel on India's healthcare system. A total of 21 experts were included in the panel. This includes Biocon's Kiran Majumdar Shaw and top surgeon Dr. Devi Shetty. These experts have asked India to take immediate steps to fight covid. Also, this panel has given a total of 8 suggestions. They are as follows:

1. The organisation and financing of essential health services be decentralised to districts.
    
2. A transparent national pricing policy and caps on the prices of all essential health services- ambulances, oxygen, essential medicines and hospital care. Hospital care should not require any out-of-pocket expenditure and costs should be covered by existing health insurance schemes for all people, as has been done in some states.
    
3. Clear, evidence-based information on management of COVID-19 must be more widely disseminated and implemented. This information should include suitably adapted international guidelines for home care and treatment, primary care, and district hospital care in local languages that incorporate local circumstances and clinical practice.
    
4. All available human resources across all sectors of the health system, including the private sector, must be marshalled for COVID-19 response and adequately resourced, particularly with sufficient personal protective equipment, guidance on the use of clinical interventions, insurance, and mental health support.
    
5. State governments must decide on the priority groups for vaccination on the basis of evidence to optimise the use of available vaccine doses, which can be incrementally expanded as supplies improve. Vaccination is a public good and should not be left to market mechanisms.
    
6. Community engagement and public participation must lie at the heart of India’s Covid-19 response, with no restrictions on civil society organisations to access resources.
    
7. Transparency and sharing of government data to enable districts to proactively prepare for the likely caseloads in the coming weeks, and surveillance to include urgent investment in genomic sequencing.
    
8. The profound suffering and risk to health caused by loss of livelihoods should be minimised by making provisions for cash transfers by the state to workers in India’s vast informal economy who have lost their jobs and requiring businesses not to lay off their workers.