COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. First reported in Wuhan, China, and seems like the virus is on world-tour living the dream of many.
With every case being reported we now witness the other variants of the deadly infection; currently has evolved itself to the Delta variant and taking the life of billions across the globe.
It almost has been 2 years now since COVID-19 has hit the world to its very worst. No matter how rich the country is, how good the GDP of the country is, it has affected almost every country in the world. Even the health system of the developed countries has crashed with a surplus increasing number of COVID-19 patients and other emergencies. Last May we have seen the atrocities caused by the COVID-19 and humans.
Well, in India there is no different story but we somehow amidst the chaos have somehow managed to survive better than what the world has commented on us with such a population. But it doesn’t mean that we are doing great. India has suffered the loss of deaths in half a million with many un-reported. India, a developing nation, with the health system collapsing we has shown ourselves a mirror. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also realized the importance of not only the doctors but also the allied health care staff. Hence, they have passed National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professionals Bill, 2021
So, who are allied health care workers? Are they not the COVID warriors? Should they not be getting any recognition?
Allied Health Care Workers includes laboratory technicians, radiographers, cardiovascular technicians, optometrists, and many more. Laboratory technicians are those who in COVID-19 has helped India to collect the COVID samples of the patients by nasal swab and through blood collection, we have often seen them working in hospitals, path labs like Dr. Lal Path Lab, House of Diagnostics, and many private clinics. Radiographers are those who are present in X-ray, CT labs, who have helped in the diagnosis of the severity of the COVID-19 in the lungs of the patients. We have seen them working in private labs as well as in hospitals. Since we know the first sign of COVID shows up in our eyes the ones diagnosing this are optometrists who often work in eye hospitals, eye clinics, optical. In severe conditions of COVID-19 when the patient requires intense care and is on ventilation the one assisting the doctors is a cardio-vascular technician. To sum up, in short, allied health care workers hold firm ground in fighting against COVID-19. The importance of allied health care workers has risen from zero to a hundred within a span of 2 years.
Not every hero wears a cape, sometimes he wears a PPE kit with a nasal swab, antigen kit, has been assessed to X-ray rooms, and sometimes he knows a little too more about eyes.
Himanshu Rawat, Department of Optometry
