Even though India responded quite well in its fight against CVOD-19, however, it is still facing a “dangerous period”.

This was stated by Lancet in its editorial titled COVID-19 in India: The Dangers of False Optimism.

“India has also been at the forefront of efforts to develop and manufacture a vaccine, both through domestic vaccine candidates and manufacturers such as the Serum Institute of India preparing production capacity for internationally developed vaccine candidates,” the medical journal noted in the editorial.

“The rapidly growing case numbers, alongside the continuing relaxation of restrictions, are creating an atmosphere of fatalism mingled with false optimism,” it added.

“This undermines effective use of non-pharmaceutical interventions such as masks and physical distancing,” the editorial further stated.

Things for which Lancet credits India

  1. Early lockdown, which was praised by the World Health Organization (WHO)
  2. Rolling out pooled testing, where multiple swab samples are tested using one RT-PCR test kit. If the pool tests negative, the entire group can be called negative. If the pool tests positive, at least one of the samples is positive
  3. Research for vaccine
  4. Increasing tertiary care provision, including access to specialist equipment such as ventilators.

Things for which Lancet discredits India

  1. The atmosphere of fatalism mingled with false optimism that is undermining the importance of social distancing, the use of masks etc
  2. ICMR supporting Covid-19 treatment with hydroxychloroquine despite insufficient evidence
  3. Parallel crisis of economic slowdown, including the migrant crisis
  4. Presenting the current situation in India with a too positive spin