Top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has said that countries around the world have failed to provide a global response to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic to prevent the outbreak from overwhelming India, according to a report by The Guardian. Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, told Guardian Australia that a global response with equity throughout the world was the only way to fight the pandemic.
“And that’s something that, unfortunately, has not been accomplished. Often when you have diseases in which there is a limited amount of intervention, be it therapeutic or prevention, this is something that all the countries that are relatively rich countries or countries that have a higher income have to pay more attention to,” the 80-year-old immunologist was quoted by The Guardian as saying.
India is witnessing an unprecedented public health crisis amid a continued rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths. The ministry of health and family welfare on Wednesday morning announced that India recorded 3,60,960 new Covid-19 cases and 3,293 related deaths in the last 24 hours, setting another new daily global record. India’s total active caseload is more than 29 lakh, which comprises 16.55% of the country’s total positive cases.
The huge spike in active caseload has overwhelmed the health infrastructure, leading to a shortage of oxygen and other medical supplies. Several hospitals have been frequently sending out distress messages on social media to flag the acute shortage of oxygen supply. The Centre has now taken a series of steps to overcome the shortage.
Meanwhile, the United States has pledged to send oxygen generators, storage containers, PPE, remdesivir doses, a team of public health experts, and raw materials for the Covishield vaccine being manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India. Fauci stressed that though the World Health Organization (WHO) was trying to accelerate support to India through the Covax initiative, the rich countries need to assume more responsibility, per The Guardian.
“Because we’re all in this together. It’s an interconnected world. And there are responsibilities that countries have to each other, particularly if you’re a wealthy country and you’re dealing with countries that don’t have the resources or capabilities that you have,” he was quoted by the British news website as saying.
