US foundation for strategic roadmap to control Covid
The prestigious Rockefeller Foundation on Thursday recommended a strategic roadmap to not only control Covid-19 in India, but also to manage future waves of the deadly pandemic which has killed over 2,80,000 people in the country.
The Rockefeller report, “The Road Ahead for Smart Covid-19 Testing and Tracing in India, prepared in collaboration with experts and other prominent organisations outlines how India can strengthen its testing and tracing capacity to adapt to this moment, break the surge, and control future outbreaks, focusing on five critical opportunities for devising an equitable, cost-effective, and scalable Covid-19 response.
To effectively protect the population from Covid-19, it said testing and tracing strategies should be further strengthened and contextualised through a cafeteria-style approach to testing (enabling the availability of a diverse portfolio of tests with clear guidance); undertaking well-designed sero-surveys; setting regulatory pathways and quality checks on new testing technologies; ensuring equitable access to testing; and scaling genome sequencing efforts.
The report said that testing capacity, availability, and accessibility must be improved through using pooled procurement through a consortium facilitated by the Centre to reduce testing costs by a third, incentivise domestic production of testing kits and components, and control testing prices.
Recommending collaboration and communication for uniform and lucid information dissemination, the report says building collaboration and trust with the public must be prioritised through implementing a transparent data collection and sharing policy for researchers and citizens.
It also recommends to scale crucial components of tracing systems.
Tracking and tracing require human and technological resources to effectively curb virus outbreaks and provide dignified, destigmatised support to those that test Covid-19 positive. “This focused report, with actionable recommendations, can serve as a resource in informing us specifically in areas of testing and tracing,” said principal scientific advisor to the Government of India, Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan.
“Since the outbreak of the pandemic, constant testing and tracing has benefited us significantly. This was possible due to the speedy advancement through science, technology, and innovation,” he said.