New Delhi: Public representatives and politicians should not make unauthorised statements indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic is nearing an end. These remarks invoke a ‘false sense of security’ among the people, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said Monday. The association’s reaction came after Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said Sunday that India is ‘in the end game of the COVID-19 pandemic’. It is incorrect to say at this stage that it is the end of the pandemic or it is endemic, the IMA said.
“Unauthorised political statements shall invoke a false sense of security and hence, the Indian Medical Association, whose 740 frontline warriors lost their life in this war against the coronavirus, appeals to all our fellow citizens to be vigilant on wearing mask, physical distancing and hygiene and take vaccination to get yourself immunity and altruistic health contribution for herd immunity,” the IMA said in a release.
“The introduction of a much efficacious and safe coronavirus vaccine in India is a tool for us to face this challenging war with confidence,” it added.
Mutated strains of the coronavirus detected in the UK, South Africa and Brazil ‘are still haunting us’, the IMA further said.
The IMA claimed that it has been seen in the last one week that there has been a 35 to 40 per cent increase in the number of cases. Even in the national capital, the daily average has risen from 100 to 140 patients.
“It is painful to note that the discussion on endemic versus pandemic status of the disease is echoing in the political corridors. However, it ought to be substantiated by scientific evidence by the World Health Organisation or the ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) only,” the IMA pointed out.
“Let us not boast or (blow the) trumpet ourselves, and indulge in prognosticating the course of this viral disease and off guard our preventive measures against this dreaded disease at this stage,” the IMA warned.
The IMA feels that as countries are still reeling ‘under the clutches of this disease, we need to deem it as pandemic only at this stage and work hard’ on preventive, curative and rehabilitative works, according to the statement.