Over 700 doctors died of Covid-19 during second wave: Indian Medical Association

Even as the remnants of the second wave of Coronavirus continue to wreak havoc in the country, more than 700 doctors succumbed to the deadly disease during the second wave. Nationwide association of doctors Indian Medical Association (IMA) released the collated data today which showed that a total of 719 doctors from across the country died of virus while treating their patients, news agency ANI reported. The maximum number of doctors succumbed to the disease in the Eastern state of Bihar where 111 doctors died of Coronavirus, closely followed by the national capital where 109 doctors succumbed to the disease. Other states which reported high Covid-19 related casualties among doctors include Uttar Pradesh where 79 doctors died of Coronavirus, West Bengal (63), Rajasthan (43), Jharkhand (39), Gujarat (37) among others.

A large number of factors must have contributed to the large number of deaths of doctors across states, spread of Covid-19 infection in different states played a major role. States and UTs like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, had reported a large number of daily Coronavirus cases during the second wave which explains high Covid-19 related casualty figures among doctors in these states. However, there were some notable exceptions including Maharashtra which contributed the highest number of cases to the nationwide tally in the initial days of the second wave but the number of deaths in Maharashtra was only 23. Karnataka which faced an upsurge of Coronavirus during the fag end of second wave also reported only 9 Covid-19 related casualties among doctors.

Another critical area which needs further study is how could large number of doctors die of Covid-19 when most of whom are understood to have got vaccinated during the first phase of inoculation. The nation-wide vaccination process which had ensued in the month of January prioritised health workers and other frontline workers in the first phase. The IMA data did not specify how many doctors had already been vaccinated and later contracted Coronavirus. It is pertinent to note that the second wave has not completely flattened and a large number of deaths are being reported from all parts of the country and the final figure remains subject to change.