When the world is struggling to understand the unknown enemy, any information on it could be a boon. It has been more than a week since the Union Health Ministry has conducted any press briefing, something that was a daily affair even a week ago. Experts have expressed reservations who believe that little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing, more so, in a pandemic.
Prof Shamika Ravi, former member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council and currently a senior fellow at Brookings Institute, India Centre believes driving away fear is necessary and the only way to do it is through sharing information. “It is absolutely necessary. The only way to dispel fear is through information,” she said.
Dr Girdhar Gyani, who is a member of the task force for hospitals headed by the empowered committee working on coronavirus, echoes a similar sentiment. “There is still a lot of uncertainty with regards to coronavirus, we are not sure about why cases are still spiking in some areas. We know that this virus will continue for a few years and we need more data. Therefore, sharing of information should not stop,” he said.
“At this juncture where the cases are rising, it is particularly important that we share information. We don’t have a scientific voice briefing the public. There is a disturbing trend where government agencies and various state governments are covering up data at a time when we need more transparency,” Malini Aisola, co-convenor of the All India Drug Action Network spoke about the need of a scientific voice to dispel rumours and misinformation about the pandemic.
The health ministry briefing has not seen an ICMR representative since April after the states began complaining about the rapid anti-body testing kits. Thereafter, a controversy surrounding profiteering over rapid testing kits erupted after Delhi High Court heard a matter of ICMR being overcharged for the base price of the testing kits.
After a few days, presentations were made by various empowered committees on the role and scope of work being done during the pandemic.
Currently, statements from the Union Minister for Health, Dr Harshvardhan, are given out daily, detailing the Group of Ministers meeting being held after which, a press release is being issued daily by the health ministry.
But experts say information is power. “It is important to get accurate numbers than a narrative about those numbers,” said Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan, Director of The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy.
“The numbers now speak for themselves. Beyond a point, there is nothing to say. The critical thing that the country needs to know is the death figures and how it is going to shape the nation’s strategy and the science behind infectious diseases,” he added.W
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