Karnataka govt ignores expert panel, takes political decisions on COVID-19 issues: advisory panel member

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 15 : The state government ignores the expert committee and takes political decisions on issues such as the COVID vaccine shortage and erratic oxygen supply, alleged Dr HM Prasanna, Karnataka Technical Advisory Committee member on COVID-19 and the president of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association on Saturday.
Speaking to ANI, Dr Prasanna said, "Technical Advisory Committee is just in name and all decisions are political. If you have a technical committee, please respect it. It is a flip-flop for the government here. I wrote to the chief secretary last week to please ensure government vaccine supplies. Still, the government has not responded to our request nor there is anything from the Chief Minister's Office. Now, we are negotiating with Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India to get supplies for the entire private sector."
Asked about the shortage of medical oxygen, Dr Prasanna said, "The supply of oxygen is very erratic in spite of informing the government how much oxygen is required. The micro-management of supplies to private hospitals has not been fixed so far. Government has to make plans on how to supply oxygen."
Over the last two weeks, Karnataka has witnessed a devastating COVID-19 surge, recording the highest COVID-19 related deaths and a worrying number of new cases.
The state emerged as the country's new COVID-19 hotspot with 5,98,625 active cases, the highest in the country, followed by Maharashtra with 5,21,683 active infections, the union health minister informed.