Final-year medical students may be called for COVID-19 duty: Report
Final-year medical students may reportedly be called in to treat COVID-19 patients as India faces a dreadful second wave of infections. The decision was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting to review India's COVID-19 response. Notably, India reported 3.92 lakh new infections on Sunday, just a day after reporting a record single-day spike of 4.02 lakh cases. Here are more details.
Modi chaired meeting with Health Minister today
On Sunday morning, PM Modi chaired a meeting attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, the Health Secretary, and other officials. "In the meeting, many steps to incentivize students and pass-outs of medical and nursing courses to join COVID-19 duty were taken, details of which will come out tomorrow," NDTV quoted sources in the government as saying.
'NEET may be delayed'
The sources said, "Decisions may include delaying NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) and incentivizing MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) pass-outs studying for it to join COVID-duty." "The decisions may also include utilizing services of final year MBBS and nursing students in COVID-duty. Those medical personnel doing COVID-duty will be given preference in government recruitment as well as a financial incentive."
India's health system overwhelmed amid second wave
Amid the second wave of COVID-19, India's hospitals, morgues, and crematoriums stand overwhelmed. Healthcare workers are also spread too thin, with a resident doctor at a Delhi hospital dying by suicide due to stress this Friday. India, the world's largest vaccine producer, is ironically also facing a shortage of vaccine doses, along with key medical supplies such as oxygen.
India reports 1,95,57,457 cases, 2,15,542 deaths
According to the Union Health Ministry, till Sunday morning, India reported a total of 1,95,57,457 COVID-19 cases. The death toll has reached 2,15,542. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,59,92,271 patients have recovered, while 33,49,644 cases involve active infections. In the past 24 hours alone, India recorded 3,92,488 new infections and 3,689 fresh fatalities. 15,22,45,179 vaccine doses have been administered so far.
