The year 2021 was nothing less than a challenging one for Tamil Nadu’s health sector. The surge in COVID-19 cases from the end of March wreaked havoc on the State as it ran out of hospital beds and grappled with acute shortage of medical oxygen to save patients.
Though daily infections had gradually dipped at the start of the year, the relief was short-lived as the Delta variant drove an exponential rise in daily cases, resulting in the second wave of COVID-19 infections. Cases surged rapidly, reaching the highest daily load of 36,184 on May 21.
Chennai, which turned into a COVID-19 hotspot, saw its daily cases rise to 7,564 on May 12, days after a new government was sworn in. Hospitals, particularly government institutions, were flooded with patients, while ambulances carrying patients lined up outside the institutions as beds, especially oxygen-supported and ICU beds, and medical oxygen became scarce. The severity in infections led to a rise in fatalities. Tamil Nadu recorded the most number of deaths — 493 — on May 30. The peak positivity was 20.78%, according to official data. A complete lockdown came into force on May 10 that gave the much-needed breather for hospitals and their workforce as well as time to scale up infrastructure. Increasing the oxygen capacity and beds were among the main challenges for the government.
In the next few weeks, several measures were initiated to increase oxygen supply, storage and production, while the number of beds, especially oxygen-supported ones, were ramped up simultaneously. The State’s oxygen storage capacity had increased from 220 tonnes in May to 1,300 tonnes now, while the total number of beds has crossed 1 lakh.
It took almost six months for the daily infections to drop below 1,000. On November 1, the daily cases dropped to 990.
After COVID-19 vaccination was rolled out on January 16, the initial hesitancy led to poor uptake of the vaccine, resulting in wastage of doses. There were also issues in vaccine supplies that were rectified during the latter half of the year. To fasten the pace of vaccination, the Health Department launched mega camps every week, and took up door-to-door vaccination measures. It has achieved 85% coverage in the administration of the first dose. Nearly 58% of the population have been fully vaccinated as of date.
The year also saw the launch of ambitious healthcare projects. Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam, a scheme that aims to take healthcare to the doorstep of the people, through screening for non-communicable diseases, delivery of drugs and palliative care, was rolled out in August. Earlier this month, another initiative, Innuyir Kaapoom-Nammai Kaakum 48, was launched with a network of 609 hospitals to provide emergency care for accident victims, with the government stepping in to fund the treatment for the first 48 hours. The State has set up its own whole genome sequencing laboratory at the State Public Health Laboratory to enable the identification of new variants of COVID-19. With the emergence of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, Omicron, the health sector is once again gearing up for a surge in cases.