Risk Management and Healthcare Policy (Feb 2021)
Balancing Healthcare and Economy Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Indian Experience
Abstract
Ruby Dhar,1,* Babban Jee,2,* Subhradip Karmakar1 1Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; 2Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, India*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Subhradip KarmakarAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, IndiaEmail [email protected]: With its 1.3 billion population and faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, India is at the junction of two crucial decisions, balancing healthcare and the economy. To prevent the community spread of the virus, the Indian Government imposed a nationwide lockdown. Though initially successful to some extent in containing the disease spread, the extended lockdown eventually leads to a spiraling out effect resulting in the slowdown of the economy, which, in turn, lead to widespread consequences affecting the lives of millions of people, mostly those at the base of the social pyramid. We investigated the implications of few government policies taken during this pandemic and their impact on society, thereby suggesting short-term crisis management with long-term solutions. Here, we present a comprehensive account of Indian policy in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, balancing both economic and public health. We also explored a future contingency plan for risk mitigation along with few recommendations. This viewpoint will be useful for effective healthcare management and the economy in Asia’s populous nation in the COVID-19 and prepare for a future crisis of this nature.Keywords: COVID-19, India, economic crisis, healthcare, vaccination, management
