We recently encountered the devastating second wave of Covid-19 in India. It was much more severe than anyone’s anticipation, causing significant morbidity and mortality. Many patients are still struggling with post Covid complications. Apart from the physical illness, the mental trauma, anxiety and fear that this wave has infused in the minds of patients, their family members and doctors alike, will take forever to heal. Medically speaking, the second wave was more severe than the first as the new strain (Delta) is more infectious and more virulent. Our complacent attitude and reluctance to adhere to Covid appropriate behaviour also added fuel to the fire and we saw a rapid increase in the number of cases, in a matter of few days. Secondly, this time the infection was more severe with more and more people developing Covid pneumonia and requiring oxygen support. Thirdly, the younger population was also equally affected and severe Covid was not limited to the elderly population or people with comorbidities. With the sudden influx of patients, the health care system got overburdened and we encountered a shortage of hospital and ICU beds, oxygen supply, essential medicines and healthcare staff.
It was extremely disheartening to refuse the pleas of multiple patients who called daily, seeking hospitalisation. Many of our colleagues and family members also got infected during this time. Some of them got hospitalised, and a few lost their lives. Almost all households were touched by Covid in this wave. The helplessness that one feels when one cannot do enough to save the life of a patient, and more so of a family member, cannot be described in words. Balancing personal tragedies and showing up at work each day to treat patients is an extremely difficult feat. No one is trained to handle a pandemic and the extreme physical, mental and emotional stresses that it brings every day.
Thankfully, the second wave has receded now, but we need to learn important lessons from it to prevent calamities of this extent to recur in the future. Coronavirus still exists and the threat of the third wave is very real. We cannot let our guards down yet. Everyone talks about “lockdown fatigue”, but believe me, it’s even worse for the healthcare and frontline workers. So, let’s not become complacent and let’s follow Covid appropriate behaviour now also. It is very important to get vaccinated, as vaccination reduces the chances of getting a severe infection. As a substantial percentage of our population gets vaccinated, we can hopefully presume to overcome the pandemic to a large extent. Lastly, I would conclude by saying that we still do not know everything about the coronavirus and with the ongoing genetic mutations and new strains emerging, it’s unsure what the future holds for us. So, the importance of ‘prevention is better than cure’ is most relevant in the current times, as no one wants to revisit the horrifying times of the second wave again!
The writer is a Consultant- Pulmonology at Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj.