The Lancet editorial praises India’s early lockdown, and says country’s leaders ought to capitalise on know-how in public fitness, studies, and production to guide it thru the pandemic.New Delhi: The vital authorities has been accused via way of means of The Lancet of placing a “too nice spin” on the Covid-19 state of affairs in India, with an editorial withinside the magazine additionally elevating worries approximately the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) “straying from medical evidence” to offer a extra constructive assessment.
“… Presenting the cutting-edge state of affairs in India with a too nice spin now no longer simplest clouds truth however additionally hampers essential public fitness initiatives. Perpetuating unrealistic claims or failing to simply file bad information creates uncertainty a few of the public and healthcare professionals, discouraging human beings from taking preventive movement or taking public fitness messages seriously,” the editorial says. “India has the know-how in medicine, public fitness, studies, and production to guide the country thru the Covid-19 pandemic. To capitalise on those attributes, the country’s leaders ought to appreciate medical evidence, professional commentary, and educational freedom, and now no longer offer fake optimism,” it adds.
Although the editorial praises India’s early lockdown, imposed 25 March however now in large part withdrawn, the general tone of the piece is critical, with questions additionally raised approximately the great of statistics in India.
Lockdown praised
Among different things, The Lancet editorial questions the function of the country’s apex clinical studies organisation, ICMR, which include its insistence on hydroxychloroquine, a malaria and rheumatoid arthritis drug that has, on account that the start of the pandemic, been touted as a ability preventive and remedy.The editorial has additionally weighed in on ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava’s debatable push for the discharge of a Covid-19 vaccine via way of means of 15 August, a lot earlier than its trials have been predicted to be finished withinside the due course. “This stress to keep away from bad information, and to provide reassurance, seems to had been felt via way of means of numerous expert medical corporations in India. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been singled out via way of means of professionals for straying from medical evidence, acting at worst politically inspired and at first-rate overly constructive,” the editorial states. A letter from the Director General of the ICMR, Balram Bhargava, stated that the ICMR envisaged launching a coronavirus vaccine on Aug 15 (Indian Independence Day; a closing date taken into consideration unrealistic via way of means of maximum clinical professionals); ICMR has supported remedy with hydroxychloroquine in spite of inadequate evidence; and information reports claim that statistics on coronavirus contamination have been eliminated from a systematic paper,” reads the editorial.
The Lancet’s complaint of the ICMR with appreciate to HCQ comes months after it became compelled to retract a study that related the drug to bad consequences amongst patients, because the statistics used raised a stink amongst professionals across the world.
However, the editorial echoed the WHO’s reward of India’s early lockdown. “During the lockdown period, tertiary care provision became improved, which include get right of entry to to professional gadget along with ventilators. Testing numbers additionally improved quickly, with India being a few of the first to roll out improvements like pooled testing,” it states.
“India has additionally been at the vanguard of efforts to increase and manufacture a vaccine, each thru home vaccine applicants and producers along with the Serum Institute of India making ready manufacturing capability for across the world evolved vaccine applicants.”
