Karnataka: Government must listen to expert's advice to manage Covid crisis: Shivakumar

Bengaluru: The Congress on Wednesday stated that the Karnataka government would do well in managing Covid crisis if it listens to the advice of Dr Gagandeep Kang, virologist and professor of virology at Christian Medical College, Vellore. He was roped in last month as an advisor to the government for vaccine strategy.

"We thought the BJP government was finally taking scientific advice. However, it is clear it was only headline management because the government's actions don't reflect their own advisor's advice," said Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar. Shivakumar asked if the Karnataka government even agreed with what their advisor had been saying. On social media, Shivakumar quoted Kang on 10 aspects of Covid management and asked if the Karnataka government agreed with her.

The Congress party has asked the government if it agrees with their advisor's comment that vaccine procurement should be done by the Centre and not by the states, and whether they agreed with her that India was "late on the table" in acquiring vaccines from global companies. The Congress also demanded to know ow many vaccines Karnataka hoped to procure and by when from its global tender.

Questioning the Union government's statement of vaccinating the entire nation by December end, Sivakumar quoted Kang who said that the central government's claim of 2 billion vaccine doses by December should be taken "with a pinch of salt." Congress has asked the State government if they have prepared any plan to vaccinate all the adults in Karnataka.

"Dr Kang has been critical of the Indian government waking up late to the arrival of Covid second wave. She has been quoted as saying: "The increased infections are something we should have seen, recognised and acted on, latest by the beginning of March, which we didn't do." By hiring her as the official vaccine advisor of Karnataka, does the Karnataka government agree that they have been negligent in acting against rising cases in March?" The KPCC President asked.

Dr Kang has said that India has been unable to measure the impact of vaccination programs" due to poor data collection.