Maharashtra's paediatric Covid-19 taskforce resigns after new govt comes into force

The 10-member state paediatric Covid-19 taskforce members have resigned on ethical grounds, the task force was formed by the former Uddhav Thackery-led government.

Its been only a few days since the new government in Maharashtra came into action and the state paediatric Covid-19 taskforce members resigned on ethical grounds. The Directorate of medical education and research (DMER), and the secretary of medical education said they were unaware of the resignation email.

The resignation was sent to Saurabh Vijay, secretary, of medical education, said Dr Prabhu, chairman of the task force.

“Ethically, we thought it was the right thing to resign. The previous government thought it (paediatric taskforce) was required. We don’t know about the new government and we can’t presume,” he said, as reported by MSN.

Dr TP Lahane, former DMER director, who represents the government in the paediatric Covid-19 task force meeting, said it is not a resignation but seeking opinion. “They have written to the government asking what needs to be done now, the future course of action,” he said.

The ten members team was formed by the previous government and it was headed by senior paediatrician Dr Suhas Prabhu. It was formed in May 2021 to make the state ready for a possible rise in paediatric cases in the anticipated third wave of Covid-19.

Since the cases increased in June, the paediatric task force members have been meeting every Tuesday from 9 pm-11 pm and the health officials used to attend the meeting, where the Covid-19 situation used to be discussed and reviewed and doctors used give their recommendations.

“Cases are subsiding. So far, cases in children have been milder but poor vaccination numbers have been a concern. This is what we discussed in our last Tuesday meeting,” said a member of the paediatric Covid-19 taskforce.

The member said the emphasis in last Tuesday’s meeting was to undertake vaccinations at the school level. “We have been discussing poor vaccination numbers in the state and Mumbai. Similar to the measles-rubella vaccine campaign, we recommended Covid-19 vaccination campaigns in schools. Only then will it be a success,” he said.

Maharashtra's Adult Covid-19 task force is waiting for government's direction

Dr Vasant Nagvekar, infectious disease expert and state Covid-19 task force member has said that the adult state task force has decided to wait and watch. “We will wait for directions from the government,” he said. The adult state Covid-19 taskforce continued with their weekly Monday meeting on July 4.

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