Hospitals choking on oxygen shortage

India’s Covid-19 crisis is turning increasingly macabre. With daily new infections crossing the 3 lakh mark, our health infrastructure, which was always fragile, has completely collapsed. Over the past few days, we have seen disturbing images of Covid-19 patients gasping to death for want of oxygen or being turned away from hospitals due to a shortage of beds and oxygen. The situation in Delhi has been particularly dire, with many hospitals admitting that they have just enough oxygen to see patients through for a couple of hours.

If the situation in the nation’s capital, Delhi, is this alarming, what can we expect in rural India or the ‘remote’ Northeast? While the number of patients pouring into hospitals is indeed a veritable tsunami, the plight of patients cannot be blamed on the rising numbers alone. It is the failure of governments at the central and state levels to anticipate, plan and prepare for another wave of infections that is to blame. The first wave peaked in September and cases declined thereafter for around six months. This means that the central and state governments had at least half a year to build up facilities to manufacture oxygen, stock medicines, etc. Instead of focusing all its energies on ramping up health infrastructure, the Modi government was busy toppling state governments and politicking.

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In addition to the shortage of essential medical supplies is the flawed distribution. BJP state governments seem to have been luckier in receiving medicines and vaccines than those run by the Opposition. Over the past week, state governments have fought each other, even hijacked each other’s oxygen supplies. Is there no system in place to ensure fair, orderly and smooth distribution?

Earlier this week, a leading manufacturer of medical oxygen said that the country has enough oxygen to meet current demands. Apparently, much of this oxygen is in places far away from the soaring demand and efforts are on to transport this by train. The shortage of oxygen seems to have been created, as also an artificial scarcity in medicines like remdesivir, with an eye on windfall profits. The black market in oxygen and other supplies is preventing patients from accessing these at affordable prices. The Modi government has failed India so far in tackling the second wave. It can redeem itself somewhat if it would crack down on black marketeers and ensure that supplies are available easily.