CoVID Resources / Help for Aspirants staying away from home
I think forum as a community can be helpful for pooling resources for aspirants away from home for preparation.
Any leads for medicines / doctors / home care especially in Delhi will be very helpful
@root please permit this thread. Thank you
Gochi,upsc2020
Key principle - do NOT ignore mild symptoms- low grade fever, mild cough, body ache etc. Don't try to “shake it off”by resting a couple of days. Consider it a yellow flag immediately. While you look at getting tested for Covid, act based on symptoms
Act but don't panic.
Note the day of first symptoms - that is Day 1
Day 1 - Start taking Dolo 650/ Crocin as needed along with Celin 500 (Vit C) and Zincovit/ Zinconia once a day. Also take steam 5-6 times a day. Gargle with betadine.
Check SpO2 readings periodically. A dip can be cause for alarm but decent readings not a cause for complacency
Known good practice: lie down in prone position (face down, pillow under chest) without mask and take deep breaths.
Day 3 - If symptoms persist for 3 days, you can start taking Azee and Ivermectin 12 mg. Once a day for 3-5 days. This is ‘covid light’ treatment
Please continue all the vitamins and treatments outlined above
(Some docs give doxycycline instead of Azee)
As you count from the day of first symptoms, things should start to improve from day 5-6 if infection is mild. Else it’s a cause for further action.
Tests that should be done by day 5 (can be earlier too)
Blood tests - CRP, CBC, Ferratin, D Dimer.
High CRP levels - above 10- indicate infection.
Chest CT Scan
If high CRP, then CT is a must;
Many are doing CT earlier to save time, some even twice.
Fever persisting post day 5, you should check with your doc about Fabiflu. Fabiflu is prescribed by doctors in cases where the fever stays high
(Most in India are talking about remdesivir, but its not a miracle drug and also hits the liver hard)
Day 7 is a good time to look at steroids depending upon age and any comorbidities. Doc intervention critical !
Dexona 6 mg (along with pan-d & ecosprin 25 or higher)
If fever is there then likely Fabiflu will be taken (1800mg twice on day 1; 800mg twice from day 2)
Oxygen levels consistently under 94 are tricky and under 90 would need hospitalisation; Oxygen cans, concentrator, cylinder can provide critical interim relief
The sincere hope (and prayer) is to minimise number of cases that get to this point.
AIIMS Patna guidelines .pdf
Friends, let me share some of my own learnings. This might help you, or your acquaintance who may be in similar situation. [Note: This was in properMumbai.7 days ago, all these tricks helped me, and my uncle returned healthy, after struggling for oxygen, collapsed lungs, and fighting ICU anxiety. He is doing good. Is on regular medication]
1. How I fetched Remdisivir
Okay, some quick facts first. This was advised by doctor. We were not panic buying. Though recent reports say it is not that kaargar, but we were, at that time, not in a position to think like this. We were sticking to docs advise, and for us, this injection was everything, and it finally worked.
Let me cut the long story short (this excludes our desperate search for that inj, and unlimited calls to people who we thought may help us in fetching this injection). I suddenly remembered reading about this organisation in last year's vision test series, which goes by the name- National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). This is situated in Delhi, and is under Ministry of Fertilisers. And guess what, their mandate is "to ensure availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices". I called on their toll free number. No answer. Thought this might not be functioning. But an hour later, an under secy level officer called me, and attended my emergency. Explained him the situation. When you call them, apart from the vital medical info, also keep the prescription ready. And most importantly, the do say them that "We are not panic buying. This is advised by doctor. AND THE HOSPITAL WHERE HE IS ADMITTED,DO NOT HAVE STOCK OF THIS IN THEIR OWN DISPENSARY". Once you say this, I think the onus shifts to them, and they take you seriously. For me, this organisation worked. NPPA informed their state counterpart (FDA in Maha). Officials from FDA called me to confirm my location and genuineness. They in turn informed to the local authorised stockist. He delivered us all the viles, at MRP, without any fuss. This is how I received Remdesivir, without any contact, just reaching out to right institutions, at the right time.
2. Oxygen/Bed
This is the real deal. More than anything, it is the oxygen therapy (and regular normal medication) which is saving lives. I was simply lucky (and fortunate enough to shell out a bomb) at a private hospital. Situation is bad on ground. I am an active user of twitter, & I can vouch confidently that it is the only social media where one can hope for help. Follow verified people there. Help mil jaayegi. (Pls DM if anyone need to know the protocols in Bombay). Also, please read this once (see attachment no 2). This will help in pitching your demand. And if you have time, and energy, and mental bandwith, pls help people on Twitter. We all can be useful in tweeting verified leads. And more importantly, we can act as a bridge between havs and have nots of digital divide.
3. Vaccines
Pls get vaccinated if possible. No brainier in guessing that IT IS SAVING LIVES. One of the reasons doc said me while I was discharging my Mama Ji for his recovery was- "Time pe intervention ho gaya inka, aur, ganimat hai ek dose laga rakhha tha vaccine ka. Warna he was almost at the doorstep of point of no return". Let me quickly share something about the vaccine process. We all will be eligible soon. And, to my mind, elders in the house most probably would have taken at least one shot. From May 1, things would be difficult, as large number of eligible population will be chasing comparatively low numbers of doses. Not sure about tier 2 and tier 3 cities, but in metro cities, yahi haal honey wala hai. Sharing two tips while you manevuar CoWin portal. Tip 1) While searching, don't use search by pincode option.Always use 'search by district' wala option. It fetches comprehensive result of all the vaccinecentres available in the district. Tip 2) Before booking a slot in a particular centre (be it sarkaari, or pvt), pls do check weather that centre is actually inoculating on day to day basis. There is hugemismatch between 'availability shown on CoWin' and 'actual inoculation' performed in that centre. For this, I noticed that there is this very handy data available at CoWin dashboard. If you selectyour state and district on that dashboard- IT SHOWS A REAL TIME DATA of vaccine centre. Pls check this data before booking a slot. You may also keep a tab on your local authorities, and local media, from where you will get actual jaankaari (see attachment no 3). Pls do this,until vaccine supply normalise. It will save your time. Specially when your parents and elders would be venturing out for second dose. The best case scenario (for them) is to either get vaccinated before the end of this month. Or, booking a lot in a hospital, which a) is inoculating daily, b) is available on cowin portal and, c) you reach at the vaccine centre jaldi se before vaccine gets out of stock.
Similarly, in smaller towns, agar vaccine available hai bhi to, there is vaccine hesitancy. Stupid WhatsApp forwards, fear of adverse reaction, religious reasons, superstitions, rumors (like one friend of mine just sent me a forward which said that she should not get vaccinated during her periods, as this is detrimental to her menstrual health, and her mom is now apprehensive about vaccines). Yes, this might look ajeeb to many of us privileged, but hinterland mei ye sab ho raha hai. If you live in tier 2, 3 district, and if their do not exists any shortage of vaccines- Haath jod ke vinti hai, TAKE THAT JAB !
Jaan hai to jahan hai, should superceed everything. Dawai bhi. Kadai bhi. Aur padhai bhi.
Till next time
-TR
PS: pasting all the attachments.
1. About NPPA, their toll free helpline. (Website- https://www.nppaindia.nic.in/en/about-us/whos-who/)
2. How to clearly articulate for leads on twitter, and in general- https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1384545409696075778.html
3. Updates from local authority like this- https://twitter.com/mybmc/status/1385859299470024705
4. Some useful screen shots I took from vaccine registration portal (https://selfregistration.cowin.gov.in/), and cowin dashboard (https://dashboard.cowin.gov.in/)
Casablanca,
Is there any official protocol or guidelines about how long people who have tested positive should wait before getting the vaccine?
And also, about the people who have tested negative but have flu-like symptoms- fever, cough and cold or any of them.
I haven't been able to find the official statement about this.
But I have a covid positive family member. The doctor has suggested to get the vaccine 3 months after the end of quarantine period. Since the body will already have antibodies the vaccine won't work.
chamomile,chamomile,CasablancaIs there any official protocol or guidelines about how long people who have tested positive should wait before getting the vaccine?
And also, about the people who have tested negative but have flu-like symptoms- fever, cough and cold or any of them.
source - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html
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