After more than six months of the fight against Covid-19, among the various ‘realisations’ that the world has come across, the one regarding data will be a major one. As the pandemic has unfolded in more extreme form, the overarching importance of a solid data bank has always been felt and a consensus has arrived that the response mechanism will be riddled with loopholes without this vital input. In India, thankfully, such an initiative has arrived at last with the announcement of the project to form a 'National Clinical Registry of Covid-19' which will contain the details of the clinical course of the disease in the patients, their lab investigations, the treatment protocols pursued and their outcomes. As announced by the ICMR on Thursday, it will be a pan-national initiative and its importance for the coming days needs no further mentioning since Covid will run indefinitely and as such the fight will be a long-drawn affair.

In this regard it needs to be mentioned that various top-ranking health experts in the country have pointed out time and again that without enough original clinical research on Covid-19, there will be chances of delays in devising the right strategies which will adversely impact the treatment protocols in particular and result in faulty policy guidelines in the long run. But despite this delay, which in the light of the exigencies of Covid-19 can only be called as ‘inordinate’, that it’s going to be a shot in the arm for the fightback, can’t be doubted. There is also much rationale in taking the exercise on a national level although concentration of cases has been markedly visible in round about 10 states and UTs. This is since the virus as a whole has shown much unpredictability and there is very less surety particularly about its region-wise propagating capabilities. ICMR has issued letters of intent inviting hospitals from across India to join the registry which will result in a systematic data bank build-up containing vital clinical records in a standard format onto an electronic platform. The most immediate benefit will be that it will help in coming out with pan-national weekly epidemiological and clinical reports which will directly help in formulating the most-suitable treatment protocol and also in research, which will be a necessity that needs to be pursued continuously till the total banishment of the Covid-19 virus.

From the name as it is clear that it would be a national initiative, Northeast and Arunachal must be given adequate space in it as the ‘unpredictability syndrome' of the pandemic has also been observed here by now.

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List