The past, present, and future of health economics in India.

Health economics has long been neglected as a subset of the larger discipline of Economics and Finance. However, this could not be further from the truth. There is a large body of researchers and professionals alike that are of the consensus that extensive studying and working upon Healthcare Economics can help us avert the situation that arose in the wake of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Applying the core principles of Health Economics to a situation like that would help avert bad outcomes. In this article, the authors begin by defining and establishing the concepts of Health Economics and then building on them. We further explain the concepts in light of the Indian Economy and Healthcare Sector and how it has seen unprecedented growth in the last decade. Furthermore, we touch on the various diseases that put the most strain on the healthcare infrastructure and what we can do to make the situation better. We also shed light on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the Health Economics in the Indian setting and go on to elaborate how India managed to tackle it. Finally, we elaborate on what steps we can take, as researchers and healthcare professionals, to make it easier for the common man to get access to better and more economical healthcare. We determine the importance and effectiveness of data collection and processing and also how to make better research attempts to study, evaluate and process that said data. The onus falls on the academic and the healthcare professional to ensure that the true meaning of Health Economics is not reduced to a mere numbers game, but is something which is truly subjective and for the benefit of the masses.

Psychological aspects of COVID-19 vaccine in Indian population. Are we still hesitant?

During the Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, with channelization of misinformation in several platforms that people can access, the world has witnessed a unique infodemic throughout the globe. Some knowledge helped people to alleviate not only the stigma and anxiety but also inclined them to take appropriate COVID-19 behavior; whereas, the some acted opposite and buildup an aura of negative thoughts in the community regarding the prevention and control and the efforts toward effective vaccine uptake contributing to psychological disbeliefs which in turn leading to vaccine hesitancy. In India, current vaccination program for COVID-19 needs to be communicated to not only promote vaccine acceptance but to also counter rumors related to COVID-19. The WHO has recommended all the individual governments to highlight the vaccine objection spots and that the governments, educate, and implement social awareness on the vaccination with the help of local organizations so that large proportion are covered with this safe immune program. With the emergence of new variants COVID-19 infection can be severe. "Earlier people get vaccinated the earlier people are protected". Taking these concerns, our study will throw some light for primary care physicians on COVID-19 vaccine-related psychological attributes and hesitancy and will present pragmatic approaches to deal with scenarios related to it during the pandemic.

COVID - 19 presenting with fungal infections - the hidden pandemic within pandemic?

The objective of this case report is to highlight the impending secondary fungal infection outbreak in COVID-19 and the need to contain this emerging spread of fungal infections. Three case reports are presented, all from India. Altered immunity is an important risk factor for mucormycosis. In addition, diabetes has been noted to be critical for the development of mucormycosis in immunocompetent patients. Candidiasis is an infection caused by the Candida species due to the immunosuppressed state developed by the use of glucocorticoids, which results in secondary fungal infection requiring urgent medical attention.

Hail the healers in the hell of Covid 19 pandemic.

The condition of the world is different in the year 2021. People who were busy with their daily life and all the social activity have realized that tables can turn over at any moment of time. It's the COVID-19 pandemic this year. The world has seen the importance of health care workers all around the globe. All the countries have realized the importance of the health care sector along with the need to expand it further. The importance of spending more financially on a country's health care sector has become utmost important right now. At this time of emergency when humanity is foaling in a way which was never witnessed in the acts of violence against frontline workers, doctors are still not ready to give up on humanity. The human era has witnessed times when people used to laugh out loud about water being sold and now have come to witness such times when even a liter of oxygen is worth millions of Rupees, the conclusion being basic human amenities have started to fade away. Even after witnessing such crises around the globe, and the sacrifices of health care workers, people are still busy creating chaos for them or I would like to say "create a hell-like environment" for them to work in. Even after such a chaotic condition, health care workers are giving their best to control this health care emergency and since time immemorial, they are putting their life at risk for this society which are dwelling devils inside for them.

COVID-19 fear-induced anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder leading to fatal megaloblastic anemia: Lethal psychological complication of the pandemic.

We report a young female having severe pallor and breathlessness on presentation, being diagnosed as a case of megaloblastic anemia, which was confirmed on bone marrow biopsy. On detailed history taking, she was revealed to have anorexia nervosa precipitated due to extreme fear of COVID-19 along with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Thus, a psychiatric disorder presenting due to simple phobia of COVID-19 can also have a fatal outcome in the young. Therefore, psychiatric health needs urgent attention by physicians, governments, and policymakers across the globe to prevent the surge of mental illness during the ongoing pandemic.

Role of Zinc and Clinicopathological Factors for COVID-19-Associated Mucormycosis (CAM) in a Rural Hospital of Central India: A Case-Control Study.

Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)has been a difficult enemy to beat for healthcare professionals around the world. However, even before the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an emergence of a new combatant in the form of opportunistic fungal infections with a high rate of morbidity and mortality, creating havoc throughout the globe. Methods A case-control single-center study was conducted in Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra. All the subjects who were included in the study were tested positive for COVID-19 through the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method and the cases were defined as patients with biopsy-proven mucormycosis, whereas control were subjects who did not develop mucormycosis. The duration of the study was three months, from June 2021 to August 2021. Result A total of 55 cases and 50 controls were enrolled in the study. The use of zinc was found to be significantly associated with COVID-19-associated mucormycosis, with 89.1% of the cases having a history of zinc intake and only 52% of controls having a history of zinc intake( p-value <0.001). Diabetes mellitus was found to be significantly associated with COVID-19-associated mucormycosis with 83.6% of the cases and 16% of the controls having diabetes mellitus (p-value <0.001). Although the use of steroids in cases was more with 98.2% of the cases and 54% of the control receiving steroids; this difference was not significant statistically (p-value of 1.00). Conclusion We conclude that apart from diabetes mellitus and other immunosuppressive states, zinc might be the hidden culprit behind the sudden surge of COVID-19-associated mucormycosis worldwide owing to the self-administration of zinc by the patients to acquire innate immunity and over-prescription of multivitamins by the treating clinicians. However, this association required further studies in order to be proved.

Pathogenesis of covid - 19 – Pandemonium of the pandemic in Pandora's box

The novel disease of 2019 by name coronavirus (Covid - 19 or SARS - CoV - 2), was first detected in December of 2019 in the Seafood Market of Huanan in Wuhan region of China. In less than a month it was proclaimed as a pandemic by The World Health Organization (WHO). Now, even after a year, it still remains to be a concern as a jeopardy to the global public health. The inception of Covid-19 has been identified as the third encounter of a highly morbific coronavirus after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS - CoV) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS_CoV) causing coronaviruses, in merely two decades. In this review, we illustrate the general features of coronavirus and highlight the pathogenesis of the disease, bringing forth the different theories of disease progression, which may help clinicians and other health professionals to achieve a direction for further research, therapeutic protocols and development of the vaccine for combating SARS - CoV - 2 infection.

India in "Flattening the Curve" of COVID-19 Pandemic - Triumphs and Challenges Thereof

We often see the term flattening the curve in newspaper and news but we often forget the very importance of this term which if considered seriously can be used to deal with various pandemic situations around the globe and one such condition is Covid-19 which is being dealt by each one of us in this World. The "Curve" which all the researchers in the world are commenting upon is the one which states the number of people that will come in contact with Covid-19 over a particular period of time. This curve will tell you about the theoretical spread of the virus and will help different governments around the world to predict the outcome of such a condition and plan various measures which can be used to deal with this situation we all are living with. The use of pandemic curve can be traced back in time and how it has benefitted mankind since time immemorial. The origin of the strategy of flattening the curve can be traced back in a newspaper named Interim pre pandemic planning guidance: community strategy for pandemic influenza mitigation in US: early, targeted, layered use of non-pharmaceutical interventions. The center for disease control and preventions published it in 2007, a paper which gave a preview about this impactful strategy and about how this could be used in a pandemic like situation. To win this battle against the novel coronavirus, infection Covid-19;epidemiologists are using this strategy of "Flattening the Curve";but in this strategy in addition to social distancing there is a significant requirement to increase the surge capacity of hospitals. Different data is coming from different region's which tells that diverse actions are being taken in different countries. This review will have a look at the Indian scenario of flattening the curve along with all the strategies applied and their success rate.