Between last Covid wave and rising cases now, a new govt in Maharashtra and a new Covid task force

The task force played a major role in handling the pandemic, earning the MVA government a lot of praise. The experts would hold regular meetings with CM Uddhav, where all major decisions were taken, such as on testing, masking, regional lockdowns, screening, contact tracking, mass immunisation. A few days before the fall of his government on June 2, 2022, Uddhav presided over one of the last meetings with the task force, at which time the state had 1,081 fresh Covid-19 cases.

However, sources say, once the Shinde Sena-BJP government had taken over, the task force members began to be sidelined.

The need for the force was felt again this month, among rising cases. On April 12, the state recorded 1,115 new cases — the first time in seven months that the single-day case count had crossed the 1,000-mark. While the daily caseload is still hovering around 1,000, Eknath Shinde didn’t hold a meeting with the task force.

“For the last two months, the state is witnessing a gradual upward spiral of cases. Unlike earlier though, the recently called meetings of the task force were headed by the Secretary and Director of the Public Health Department. Neither the CM nor his deputy, Devendra Fadnavis, attended it,” said an official, seeking anonymity.

Then, a week ago, a government resolution was issued announcing the formation of a completely new task force headed by Dr Subhash Salunkhe, former state Director General of Health Services. Its other members include Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar, former ICMR member Dr Raman Gangakhedkar and Dr Rajesh Karyakarte from B J Medical College in Pune, among others.

“After working for three years, the members weren’t even informed verbally about the change. The present government didn’t want to keep the former members who had worked under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray,” said an official of the Public Health Department.

The former task force consisted of renowned names like Dr Rahul Pandit (intensive care specialist), Dr Shashank Joshi (diabetologist), Dr Vasant Nagvekar (infectious disease expert) among others, who played a critical role in handling the pandemic. But the focus of the present government was apparently on including more researchers and public health experts from within the government healthcare system, than private practitioners.

The new committee also has more members from outside Mumbai. Out of the nine newly appointed members, four are from Pune, while only Dr Harshad Thakur, a stalwart in the field of public health, is from Mumbai. This has also raised concern among doctors, as Mumbai has always recorded the highest incidence of Covid-19 cases in the state.

“Although it is the choice of the government to form the task force, they could have maintained continuity by reappointing at least 2-3 members who had worked during the pandemic. There was no need to break continuity just to show the present government is doing something different from the previous government, as the previous task force had gained experience from working during one of the most difficult times,” said Manisha Kayande, MLC, Shiv Sena (UBT).

Some have questioned the emphasis on researchers and public health experts, as compared to medical practitioners. “The former team had doctors who were treating patients on the ground. They could identify the crisis and requirements like the lack of oxygen or PPE, requirement of medicines, etc. Members of this new group are equally accomplished, but don’t have such on-ground medical experience,” said an official.

However, an official of the present task force, said the main reason for changing the members was better inclusion of experts like microbiologists, public health experts, and retired doctors who have wide experience in managing the health system. “The former doctors were extremely efficient, but they lacked the farsightedness in handling the outbreak in rural areas as they mostly work in private hospitals in Mumbai,” said the member. He also said that when a pandemic breaks, other than just handling the on-ground scenario, there is a need for scientists who, through mathematical algorithms, can predict the possible surge in the forthcoming weeks. “For such expertise, we needed more researchers and scientists in the team, which we lacked earlier,” said the member.

An official who had earlier requested Uddhav to include social behaviourists and economists in the team, said, “When the decision to extend the lockdown was being taken, there was a need to involve an economist who could have suggested how to handle the situation without leading to mass migration. But, at the same time, this new group lacks experienced doctors who have handled the pandemic since the beginning, and know the nitty-gritty of it.”

The chances of another pandemic wave are quite slim due to mass immunisation and acquired infections, leading to herd immunity. But doctors say that if such a situation arises, the government would require the expertise of previous officials. “Half the government officials who handled the pandemic have retired, while the other half have been transferred. The last remaining ones were the task force members. If the government wanted to make the team more inclusive and all-round, they could have kept just a few members, rather than changing all…,” said an official.