The Indian Practitioner

Priya Manihar ¹, Varun Wani ¹

Affiliations
1 Dept of Community Medicine, TNMC & BYL Nair Ch Hospital, Mumbai, IN

Abstract

Similar to many social events of life, diseases and health-related practices are celebrated annually with titles like World Health Day, World Tuberculosis Day. In this article, we dig into the rationale of these events and highlight a few days that are commemorated between March and May. The history of World Tuberculosis Day is touched upon, along with a discussion of this year’s theme: “The Clock is Ticking” which is a reminder to make good on multiple promises made by global leaders to end tuberculosis. For World Hypertension Day, the emphasis is on proper measurement of blood pressure, with a focus on the correct use of automated machines. The different themes of World Malaria Day are enumerated, which are often repeated for successive years. Although the diseases being spotlighted vary widely in epidemiology, a common link can be seen. Each day shows a specific target with specific interventions. This platform created by the celebration is used to spread awareness and correct knowledge among people so that timely steps can be taken to reduce the burden of disease on the people.

Keywords

World Health Day, World Tuberculosis Day, World Hypertension Day, World Malaria Day, WHO, knowledge, attitude, practices.

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Sanjay Panchal ¹, Reena J. Wani ², Kinjal Chauhan ³, Varun Wani ³, Priya Manihar ³

Affiliations
1 Dept of Community Medicine, TNMC & BYL Nair Ch Hospital, Mumbai, IN
2 HBT Medical College & Dr RN Cooper Municipal Hospital, Mumbai, IN
3 TNMC & BYL Nair Ch Hospital, Mumbai, IN

Abstract

Since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic and Lockdown on March 2020 till date, measures like hand hygiene, social distancing and testing have worked only partially to contain the cases and deaths. Cooper Hospital, Mumbai, was one of the 10 nodal centres identified by Prime Minister’s Office in January 2021 to launch the Nationwide Vaccination drive, along with other public hospitals in Mumbai. We aim to highlight the challenges of vaccination setup and procedures in initial phases and discuss concerns/effect on our department workforce and workplan. We reviewed the patterns, procedures and problems faced by our vaccination centre from January 15th till March 15th (2 months). We also looked into setup at another centre in Mumbai. Over 37,000 vaccine doses have been administrated in our center alone by March end, and issues were analysed in detail with special reference to logistics & department work. Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) were very few. We found that anxiety about side effects, concerns about choice of vaccine and long-term effects were the major impediments to vaccination. Although vaccination is not the final answer, it is an important tool to improve our response to the pandemic. Restructuring available infrastructure is essential in pandemic situations. Proper procedure, counselling and choice in the way forward in this crisis.

Keywords

COVID Vaccine, Covishield, Vaccination.

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