America’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci says India is in such “dire straits” because it made the “incorrect assumption” that they were finished with the COVID-19 and opened up prematurely.
India has been severely affected by the unprecedented second wave of the coronavirus and hospitals in several states are reeling under the shortage of health workers, vaccines, oxygen, drugs and beds.
Dr Fauci was speaking to the US Senate Health, Education and Labour on the lessons learnt from the situation on India during a hearing on the COVID-19 Response.
“Preparedness with regard to public health preparedness which we as a lesson learned for future pandemics have to realize that we need to continue to build up our local public health infrastructure which over the last decades we have let actually in many respects go into disarray likely because of our successes in controlling so many diseases.”
Dr Fauci says this pandemic requires a global response.
He adds the US needs to pay attention to the responsibility they have not only for their own country but to join other countries to ensure they have access to interventions particularly the COVID-19 vaccines.
