Rely on science

Any formula for oxygen distribution should be freed of political calls to the extent possible (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO) — Any formula for oxygen distribution should be freed of political calls to the extent possible **(Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)**

1 min read . Updated: 09 May 2021, 11:05 PM IST Livemint

The Supreme Court has constituted a task force for oxygen distribution to states, many of which have been drastically short of supply

The Supreme Court has constituted a task force for oxygen distribution to states, many of which have been drastically short of supply. The 12-member panel will be headed by the Union cabinet secretary and will have health management experts as members. It includes highly regarded public figures like virologist Gagandeep Kang, heart specialists Devi Prasad Shetty and Naresh Trehan, and chest physician Zarir F. Udwadia, among others.

The objective, as the apex court put it, is to formulate a public response to a national crisis that draws upon “scientific and specialized domain knowledge". Indeed, any formula for oxygen distribution should be freed of political calls to the extent possible and take into account medical expertise as much as epidemiological information on the caseload of a state or zone, the intensity of the pandemic, the risk of spread, etc. As reliable data is hard to come by, the panel’s modelling techniques would have to be highly sophisticated. Software tools designed for logistical optimization, based on linear programming methods pioneered by George Dantzig et al., will need to be deployed. The scientific way is our best hope.