Health-care workers across the country are preparing for or already tackling a wave of new Covid-19 cases as a result of the fast-spreading omicron variant.

The strain’s ability to infect vaccinated people threatens to add to workforce troubles, even if symptoms are mild.

Health-care workers have also reported high level of burnout, and many have left the field.

Omicron the third variant will impact mental health .

Health workers at the beginning of the pandemic also were struggling with almost two years of fatigue.

“The real problem is everybody is tired,” said Dr Ashu shah .Everybody is mentally, physically and emotionally worn out from dealing with the impact of Covid.”

Dr Ashu reiterate “ I think the trauma that the Health professional are going through is going to be a bit deeper than that, and so having long-term sustainable programs is going to be really important,”
“We would encourage the government to help us invest in both increasing the healthcare workforce pipeline and supporting adequate for nurses, advanced practitioners, technicians, home healthcare aides, and all the other ancillary staff.”

Omicron is a particular threat because it is effective at overcoming protection against infection among those who have been vaccinated or survived previous cases of Covid , which means even vaccinated health workers may need to isolate after a positive test or take time off to recover from the illness.

Pandemic has already decimated communities, worsened long-standing health inequities, and demonstrated the importance of public health preparedness. We are watching public health emergencies increase dramatically, and our fractured health care system is facing huge stress as we are losing the one remaining piece that has been the glue holding us together for so long—healthcare workers. Healthcare workers come day or night, weekdays or weekends, birthdays or holidays, sacrificing so much, including their own lives to help others during their most vulnerable moments. That’s our job, and we are proud to do it. At the same time, we cannot overstate . The physical, emotional, and mental toll this pandemic has had on our colleagues is immensely important. If we really want to save lives, we must act now.
Yes, we must continue to push for vaccinations, masks, testing, and ventilation, to hold off another COVID surge. But in the meantime, let’s look around. Our hospitals have nothing left to give. If we are to avoid a descent into crisis standards of care, it’s time to shore up our hospitals and clinics.

How can you protect yourself and your family against the Omicron variant?

The most important thing you can do is reduce your risk of exposure to the virus.

To protect yourself and your loved ones, make sure to: 

Wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth .Mask prevents infections

Make sure that your hands are clean when you put on and remove your mask.
Keep a physical distance of at least 1 metre from others. 
Avoid poorly ventilated or crowded spaces.
Open windows to improve ventilation indoors.
Wash your hands regularly.  
When it’s your turn, get vaccinated.
WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective .
Covid 19 Vaccination prevents serious diseases, illness hospitilzation, ventilator & oxygen support

Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic antibodies to evoke a faster immune response in the body against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) and stop the disease from getting severe. The cocktail is intravenously administered in the OPD in two to four hours.

Patients spend Rs 1.2 lakh on the double-dose but Omicron cases that therapy would not be potent against the latest variant of the novel coronavirus.

Chairman of Asian Health care & fonder of ASC Foundation- Dr Ashu shah revealed the doctors’ opinion that cocktail therapy has no effect on Omicron, Even Karnataka’s Covid-19 treatment protocol did not include administering cocktail therapy for Omicron patients.

Today’s update from WHO .

“The Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor baricitinib, which is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, is strongly recommended for patients with severe or critical covid-19 in combination with corticosteroids, an expert group from the World Health Organization has written in the BMJ,” a part of the journal read.
Experts also recommended synthetic antibody treatment Sotrovimab for people with non-serious Covid at highest risk of hospitalisation, such as the elderly, people with immunodeficiencies or chronic diseases such as diabetes.
Sotrovimab’s benefits for people not at risk of hospitalisation were deemed insignificant and the WHO said its effectiveness against new variants like Omicron was “still uncertain”.

Are Booster shots necessary?

A booster is an additional dose of vaccine that can help prolong protective immunity in someone who responded fully at first , but there is evidence that protection is declining after sometime.

“In essence it is a ‘top- up ‘ of a person’s antibody – mediated immune response to the first vaccine series .”

On priority booster doses are needed by ,

Health and frontline workers and people above 60 years old with comorbidites .

Previous waves we had lack of medicines , oxygen and hospital beds but this wave it’s more of manpower shortage .

It’s time government recognises the efforts of healthcare workers and provide them with better infrastructure and facilities so that they get motivated more to handle such crisis in future.

How long to wait before getting a booster

You need to wait 3 months (at least 90 days) after your first round of COVID-19 vaccination before you can get a booster.

If you had COVID-19 since you were vaccinated, you should get your booster dose at least 3 months after your positive test result.

The booster is designed to help people maintain their level of immunity for longer.

Govt should immediately launch the children vaccination as there are a great extent of (blood cancer ) leukaemia patients who are more prone to covid.

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Doctors #nurses #ashushah #CMkarnataka #basavrajbommai #ShriNarendramoji #PMO #ascfoundation #genomesequencing #genome #cocktailtherapy

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