Bihar, UP, Delhi Top List As 270 Doctors Die Of COVID In Second Wave So Far: IMA

A total 269 doctors have been lost so far in a short period compared to 730 last year, says Indian Medical Association (IMA). Bihar recorded the highest number of doctors ¡ª 78 ¡ª who died due to COVID-19 in the second wave so far followed by Uttar Pradesh (37) and Delhi (28). Last year, 736 doctors had lost their lives during the first wave. A total of nearly 1,000 doctors across India have lost their lives due to Covid so far, as per IMA.

coronavirus covid doctor

IMA only keeps a record of its nearly 3.5L members

While the IMA says that a thousand doctors have died due to Covid so far, the actual numbers may be far higher. The IMA only keeps a record of its nearly 3.5 lakh members. India, however, has more than 12 lakh doctors.

In Delhi's Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital -- a dedicated Covid specialty, Anas Mujahid, 26, a junior Resident Doctor died within hours of testing positive due to Covid. He is identified as the youngest of 269 doctors who have lost their lives to Covid this year in India's second wave.

BCCL

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana followed in the list with 22 and 19 doctors having lost their lives respectively. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and West Bengal were the other states where the figures of doctors having lost their lives were in double digits. While Goa and Puducherry reported one death each, Haryana, Kerala, Tripura and Uttarakhand reported two deaths each.

269 doctors have died in the second COVID uptil now: IMA pic.twitter.com/gpCzQq2exE

¡ª Runjhun Sharma (@Runjhunsharmas) May 18, 2021

Underreporting of the total death of doctors

In February, the IMA had expressed shock over the underreporting of the total death of doctors due to the coronavirus infection by the Union government in the first wave. While Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey had announced at the time that 162 doctors, 107 nurses and 44 ASHA workers had lost their lives to the coronavirus in the country, the IMA¡¯s figures were starkly different.

BCCL

IMA President Dr JA Jayalal conveyed in a letter to Choubey that, according to the association, 744 doctors had lost their lives to the coronavirus as on February 3.

50 doctor deaths reported in a day

Of the total deaths, 50 were recorded on Sunday alone. The medical body said that only 3 per cent of these doctors were fully vaccinated. Five months into India's vaccination drive, only 66 per cent of India's healthcare workers have been fully vaccinated. The IMA said it is making all possible efforts to encourage doctors to take the jab.

AFP

In an interaction with a group of doctors via video-conferencing, PM Narendra Modi said be it testing, supply of medicines or setting up new infrastructure in "record time", all these are being done at a fast pace. Noting that a large number of patients are undergoing treatment in home isolation, PM Modi also asked doctors to ensure that the home-based care of every patient is Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) driven.