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Report of the Webinar
“Immunity on Mental Health in Pandemic and Concurrent Disasters “
NIDM and RADHEE Disaster and Education Foundation
17th July, 2020
Background
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Till
July 3, the virus has spread in 215 countries affecting 109 million people, causing more than
5.23 lac deaths. Most of the country where high mortality is reported is due to poor
immunity of the people and lack of health care infrastructure capacity. USA, European
countries had best of health are infrastructure for normal situation but couldn’t handle the
increasing number of COVID 19 cases which has increased mortality in those countries.
COVID-19 Disease
Corona Virus named SARS-COV2 is enveloped RNA virus which is one of the deadliest
viruses as it spreads through respiratory secretions and it survives in different surfaces from 4
hours to 7 days. Post infection incubation period varies from 0 to 21 days and in some cases,
it is seen up to 45 days. In many cases, post infection, patients have been reporting of re-
infection making it extremely complicated virus to understand and deal with. Lock down,
Face mask and physical distancing of 3 feet is helping to reduce the spread but is not the
solution.
People infected with COVID-19 diseases are categorised in 5 stages
i. Asymptomatic – does not show any medical symptoms
ii. Mild Symptoms – symptoms are mild in nature and can be treated at home.
iii. Moderate Symptoms – require continuous medical attention and hospitalization
iv. Sever Symptoms – require ICU care
v. Critical – require life support
Stress created by negative media news, economic impact, lockdown and fear of getting
infected is reducing the immunity of the citizen and many patients are elevating into
moderate symptoms and critical category who require hospitalization. Strengthening the
immune system will limit the impact of disease in the body to Asymptomatic or Mild
Symptoms not requiring hospitalization thereby reducing deaths and burden on healthcare
infrastructure.
Pandemic response in India
On March 22 India observed voluntary Janta Curfew and followed it up with countrywide
lockdown. Till July 3, India has 6, 27,168 cases and 18,225 deaths in the country. Number of
cases in the country are on rise and the healthcare system is overwhelmed. The government is
adding more beds in the hospitals for severely ill patients. It has also reached out to private
hospitals to get them to scale up their capacity for Covid-19 patients.
Extensive testing and lockdown are playing a vital role in controlling the number of cases.
PPE,Mask, physical distancing, infected people their contacts are quarantine which is also
helping in controlling the infection. Approval of many medicines for treatment and clinical
trial, plasma therapy is helping in reducing the number of fatalities. Antibody test will also
help in knowing the person’s sustainability of getting infected but is not full proof
solution.Researchers have mapped immune responses from COVID-19 patients, showing the
body's ability to fight the virus and recover from the infection. According to the WHO, 80%
of new Covid-19 cases are mild or asymptomatic not requiring Hospitalization and ICU care.
Strong Immunity of human beings will be a game changer in fight against COVID-19
pandemic and it could increase asymptomatic and mild symptom patient’s proportion
to 90-95%.
Pandemic and Concurrent Disaster
During the COVID-19 pandemic, India has already witnessed 2 major cyclone Amphan and
Nisarg. This has added difficulties to the already stressed response agencies as well as
citizen.Currently due to monsoon season many parts of the country is facing deaths due
floods and lightening. Epidemics like Dengue and Malaria has caused few deaths across the
country.
Need of Hour
It is a need of the hour to develop a holistic approach in public health post disaster response.
This would help in reducing the health issues during any pandemic, epidemic or post disaster
by strengthening the immunity and working on mental health.
Immune System
The immune system protects the body against disease or other potentially damaging foreign
bodies. When functioning properly, the immune system identifies and attacks a variety of
threats, including viruses, bacteria and parasites, while distinguishing them from the body's
own healthy tissue. Cortisol is a stress hormone released for helping the body deal with
stressful situations. However, when cortisol levels are too high for longer period, it is harmful
for immune system. Thus, due to continuous stress Immunity is impaired which leads to
reduction in producing Lymphocytes (WBCs) which are vital component of Immune system
to fight pathogens. Strong immunity will protect the body from being susceptible to diseases.
Even if one gets disease, strong immunity will keep a person asymptomatic or mild
symptomatic not requiring hospitalization and ICU care.
Immunity is a Package
Immunity is combination of Mental Health, Physical Health and Balanced Diet. Working on
entire package is needed to improve the Immunity as working on one aspect only doesn’t
improve the immunity. Most of the people believe that eating certain type of food or doing
walking, running, exercise.or yoga will improve their immunity, however, it is seen in many
cases that such people may have some or the other health issue due to underlying stress,
anxiety, fear, sleep disorder etc.
Mental Health and Disaster
Experiencing a disaster can cause stress for families and develop disorders like anxiety,
depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Mental health disorders noted during disasters
can be classified into acute phase (1-3 months) and long-term phase (>3 months). Pandemic
or Disaster Survivors may exhibit a range of physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms.
This heightened emotional state is similar to classical fight/flight/freeze reaction of stress.
Affected person may not be in a position to think and act rationally during disaster
Immunity and Mental Health
A Healthy Mind is a must to maintain a healthy body and mental health plays vital role in
immunity strengthening. When an individual is stressed, the immune system's ability to fight
off antigens is reduced. That is when he/she is more susceptible to infections.The stress
hormone corticosteroid can suppress the effectiveness of the immune system. Tlymphocytes,
one type of immune cells present in our blood,play a significant role in regulating the
emotional response.
Problem Statement
As per the CIGNA 360 Well-Being Survey, 2019, 89% of India's population is suffering from
stress and 75% of respondents do not feel comfortable talking to a medical professional.
These statistics are before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic which would further rise due
to fear and anxiety created by the lockdown and spread of disease. Few reasons that add to
health problem includes:
• Work and finances are the key reasons for people to attribute their stress
• Economic slowdown and loss of jobs is an additional stimulant to stress
• Fear of getting infected or guilt of infecting others with COVID-19 is causing anxiety
• Physical exercise and food habits are impacted due to lockdown
• Mental health is not discussed and considered as taboo
Most of Indians are not conscious about their physical and mental health. Especially
recognizing and accepting mental health problem is off-limits.
Worries about the future and continuous fear of catching COVID-19 could create chronic
stress that could result in development of diseases and autoimmune disorders. Due to stress,
digestion could also be impaired which is the cause for lack of required vitamins, minerals
and essential nutrition thus reducing the disease fighting capacity of the body.
Objective of Webinar
Sensitize the decision makers and citizen about importance of Immunity and
mental health,
To highlight health during pandemic and concurrent disaster as a part of capacity
building
To list out steps to combat COVID-19 by strengthening immunity, and;
To put forward the self immunity check up system set up by Radhee disaster and
education foundation.
RADHEE: Self-Immunity Check
RADHEE has developed the web application “Self-Immunity Check”, which is a complete
package where mental health, physical health and diet are included in one platform and
people can get customized answer by set of recommendation to work on their Immunity.
Mental Health questions in the Self-Immunity Check will help the citizen to identifying the
acute phase of mental health issue and recommendation will help in taking corrective
measures thus reducing the person going into to chronic phase of mental health issues. The
objective of the web application “Self-Immunity Check”, is to enroll people through a
selfassessment of their Physical and Mental Health and put them on track to take remedial
actions to strengthen their immunity. Indians culture does not accept mental health as a
subject of discussion and dialogue. The application aims to sensitize and educate individuals
about the signs and symptoms of mental illness while normalizing the idea of seeking support
and working on remedial measures
Number of Participants: 435
List of Participants .
Participan
t
Name Email
1 Chintan Patel [email protected]
2 M.SANTHOSHKUMAR [email protected]
3 166 135 4250 [email protected]
4 Dr Vikram pal [email protected]
5 hp [email protected]
6 Roohi Amir [email protected]
7 simran [email protected]
8 s Ramakrishnan [email protected]
9 Manish Modani [email protected]
10 MAHARASHTRA RESEARCH
INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL
SCIENCES, PUNE
11 dheerendra [email protected]
12 BiswanathBasu [email protected]
13 COLLECTOR OFFICE -
BANASKANTHA
14 Basavarajrathod [email protected]
15 Vandana Khatri [email protected]
16 Dr hanspreet [email protected]
17 Dr.C.S.Yatnalli [email protected]
18 Dr SthitiPorna Dutta. [email protected]
19 ketan b [email protected]
24 PRANGYA RATH [email protected]
25 Arun Srivastava [email protected]
26 Garima Shukla [email protected]
27 Deenika [email protected]
28 Badarinath R G [email protected]
29 Manoj Kumar Bindal [email protected]
30 munnaalfaz786 [email protected]
32 sunilduttchd [email protected]
33 Sandhya Gautam [email protected]
35 Servesh Gupta [email protected]
36 kratustrivedi [email protected]
37 Anilkumarpatel [email protected]
38 gopal [email protected]
39 [email protected] [email protected]
40 puja [email protected]
41 Dr. Satish UttamraoPatil [email protected]
42 Chandani Patel [email protected]
43 BoinPrashamsa [email protected]
44 MonalisaNaik [email protected]
46 anild883 [email protected]
47 JEYARAM. S [email protected]
48 LAKSHMI NARAYANA
NAGISETTY
49 Dr. Ishwar Singh [email protected]
50 AnumitaMondal [email protected]
51 Ragu kumar [email protected]
52 Blithe Sudhar [email protected]
53 Suraj Das [email protected]
54 Anumolsajeev [email protected]
55 Rajan Kumar [email protected]
56 Pritesh Tungar [email protected]
57 Medha Pujari [email protected]
58 Kanu Patel [email protected]
59 drgvramanarao [email protected]
60 Kalpana [email protected]
61 ShivkumarSherikar [email protected]
62 Sukhbir [email protected]
63 swthruby [email protected]
64 vaidyakalpana [email protected]
65 Rinku Nag Biswas [email protected]
66 BoinPrashamsa [email protected]
67 PRITI VASAVA [email protected]
69 Dr Arun Kumar Chatterjee [email protected]
70 Dr. N Islam Babu [email protected]
71 ebormi [email protected]
72 BAPU NAIDU KOLLI [email protected]
73 Avikalp Mishra [email protected]
74 Dr.Vaishali Vilas Sonavane [email protected]
77 chhapikul786 [email protected]
78 Medha [email protected]
80 Dr.Ravikant Singh Rathore [email protected]
81 Swati Chatterjee Nath [email protected]
82 Yogesh Pardeshi [email protected]
83 HarmeshBhtoa [email protected]
84 Seema Redkar [email protected]
85 NileshGamit [email protected]
86 SARAT SEKHAR BORA [email protected]
87 Dr BN Gangadhar [email protected]
88 VanitaKhatekar [email protected]
89 Alpana Vaidya [email protected]
90 Dr. RRG [email protected]
91 Karishma Borah [email protected]
92 DR RISHABH SAO [email protected]
93 prof.vijaykumarWaghmare [email protected]
95 venkatesh [email protected]
96 Dr.ViswaranjanSomanath [email protected]
97 sana [email protected]
98 Merilyn Mathews [email protected]
99 Anilkumarpatel [email protected]
100 elawad.2010 [email protected]
101 Ankur Pandey [email protected]
102 abhijitpilkhane [email protected]
103 BikalpaBagui [email protected]
104 GEETASHREE DEORI [email protected]
105 Kanchan Chouksey [email protected]
107 KESHUBHAI MOKARI [email protected]
108 Sai Kiran [email protected]
109 kundankumar [email protected]
110 Ashok Kumar Sharma [email protected]
111 anjithamary [email protected]
112 Dr Aditya Kumar Chaturvedi [email protected]
113 Bhavana M [email protected]
114 Dr Desh Deepak [email protected]
115 Amita Singh [email protected]
116 GEETASHREE DEORI [email protected]
117 Sahidul Islam [email protected]
118 PREETI BAJPAI [email protected]
119 K S Mehta [email protected]
120 05 AnnayaRajinikanth 1j [email protected]
121 Arvind Chauhan [email protected]
122 Rupa [email protected]
123 sana [email protected]
124 PRITI VASAVA [email protected]
125 vishwassupanekar [email protected]
126 Dr.Nimesh G Desai [email protected]
127 welcome [email protected]
128 Ashish Ukidve [email protected]
129 Roohi Amir [email protected]
130 shivkumar [email protected]
131 Harshad [email protected]
132 Anumolsajeev [email protected]
133 MSN Reddy [email protected]
134 Rakesh Kumar Jangir [email protected]
135 SrilathaJuvva [email protected]
136 Anilkumarpatel [email protected]
138 Arvind Gauns [email protected]
139 Sujata Borade [email protected]
140 PratimaPawar [email protected]
141 KESHUBHAI MOKARI [email protected]
142 Ragu kumar [email protected]
143 Dr. N Islam Babu [email protected]
144 SARAT SEKHAR BORA [email protected]
145 Dr.Rakeshkumar [email protected]
146 DR RISHABH SAO [email protected]
147 Jiban [email protected]
148 Dr. RRG [email protected]
149 rahuldodia [email protected]
150 Tarun Goyal [email protected]
151 kamleshpatel.kp [email protected]
152 GOPAL PANDEY [email protected]
153 Rajan M Karakkattil [email protected]
154 KETAN BAROT [email protected]
155 JEYARAM. S [email protected]
157 Banashree Bhatia [email protected]
158 Vandana Khatri [email protected]
159 Vinod Jadhav [email protected]
160 RuchitaThorat [email protected]
161 Anumolsajeev [email protected]
162 Anumolsajeev [email protected]
163 Sonia Chhabra [email protected]
164 J.JEYA PRADHAP [email protected]
165 J.JEYA PRADHAP [email protected]
166 Karishma Borah [email protected]
167 Dr SthitiPorna Dutta. [email protected]
168 elawad.2010 [email protected]
169 Dr Desh Deepak [email protected]
170 sathishkumar.G [email protected]
171 Kratu Trivedi DPO GirSomnath [email protected]
172 Kratu Trivedi DPO GirSomnath [email protected]
173 dr.sumijain [email protected]
174 SANDEEP KAUSHIK [email protected]
175 HP [email protected]
176 barothitesh13188 [email protected]
177 Nikita singh [email protected]
178 sayalikadam [email protected]
179 akangkcha Pradhan [email protected]
180 M.SANTHOSHKUMAR [email protected]
183 yogeshpardeshi [email protected]
184 Roohi Amir [email protected]
185 DR ARVIND MANJREKAR [email protected]
187 BIJITH B L [email protected]
188 AnumitaMondal [email protected]
189 Sneha Sharad Patange [email protected]
190 plprajapati78 [email protected]
191 Anil k malik [email protected]
192 Anil k malik [email protected]
193 Mridul Mishra [email protected]
194 sudarshan [email protected]
197 SUDHIR KUMAR GOEL [email protected]
198 ketan b [email protected]
199 Ambarish Nag Biswas [email protected]
200 Dr. N Islam Babu [email protected]
201 pro.vs.bsnl [email protected]
202 Dr JahirulHaque [email protected]
204 Nitin Rathi [email protected]
207 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
208 28.G.V.N.SAI DEEP VII A [email protected]
209 Dr Kanchan Banavalikar [email protected]
213 Dr. RRG [email protected]
214 NilanjanaSingha [email protected]
215 Sangeeta Girme [email protected]
216 Akshay Kumar [email protected]
217 Vinod Jadhav [email protected]
218 Dr.Anand Kumar [email protected]
219 User [email protected]
220 SARAT SEKHAR BORA [email protected]
221 Suresh Kumar . A [email protected]
222 swatpab [email protected]
223 SrilathaJuvva [email protected]
224 aparna [email protected]
225 dilipjha2607 [email protected]
226 Er.Mukesh Kumar Saubhagya [email protected]
227 smitaditya123 [email protected]
228 Nivedita Haran [email protected]
230 Desai Foundation for Change [email protected]
231 1663301384 [email protected]
232 Padmaselvam [email protected]
233 Dr. Drishti Kansara [email protected]
234 Nivedita Haran [email protected]
235 ShreelekhaKawade [email protected]
236 Anuja Gujar [email protected]
237 Belayet Hussain Mazumder [email protected]
238 Dr. N Islam Babu [email protected]
239 BIJITH BAHULEYAN [email protected]
240 Surya Parkash [email protected]
241 AFREEN BEGUM [email protected]
242 yashwant.verma90 [email protected]
243 ChittimalaNagaraju [email protected]
244 Dr.Smriti Singh Baghel [email protected]
245 Amruta Joshi [email protected]
246 VaishaliGhag [email protected]
247 ADMIN [email protected]
248 Jiban [email protected]
249 Asif Reshamwala [email protected]
250 Ivette Dias [email protected]
251 mandal.dibas123 [email protected]
252 AFREEN BEGUM [email protected]
253 sateesh [email protected]
255 jerin [email protected]
256 dr.ssandip.dey [email protected]
257 Sangeeta Girme [email protected]
258 sachin [email protected]
260 saswatichoudhury [email protected]
261 Dr.MonalishaRoychaudhury [email protected]
263 rakhishowal [email protected]
264 DR mahendrasingh cg [email protected]
265 Suraj Nair [email protected]
266 Zahra Diwan [email protected]
267 Prashant [email protected]
269 Sunil Thube [email protected]
270 sobhanadri.pendem [email protected]
271 DRONALI TALUKDAR [email protected]
272 Dr Gopal Dixit [email protected]
274 Sahidul Islam [email protected]
275 Dr. Sunil Kumar SMO MLDCH Ynr [email protected]
276 das.piyusha [email protected]
277 Dr.Athira Menon [email protected]
278 barothitesh13188 [email protected]
279 Suresh [email protected]
280 Rakesh Kumar Jangir [email protected]
281 Anumolsajeev [email protected]
282 KARPOO [email protected]
283 AnumitaMondal [email protected]
284 MohdAzam [email protected]
285 Henna [email protected]
286 Dr. Prashant J Awate [email protected]
287 SougataKarjee [email protected]
288 BIJITH B L [email protected]
289 Vasuki Shanmukhapriya [email protected]
290 Dr. Sunil Kumar SMO [email protected]
292 Pranay Gupta [email protected]
293 Dr JahirulHaque [email protected]
294 shilpa.tambe09 [email protected]
295 shilpa.tambe09 [email protected]
296 Dr.Pallvi Sharma [email protected]
297 Swati AR [email protected]
298 Swati AR [email protected]
299 Belayet Hussain Mazumder [email protected]
301 HITESHKUMAR [email protected]
303 santoshkumar [email protected]
304 j.jeyapradhap [email protected]
305 AnumitaMondal [email protected]
309 iqackamani [email protected]
310 drankitatandon7 [email protected]
311 ShahinoorAlam [email protected]
312 Defensive Driving [email protected]
313 Mukesh Kumar Saubhagya [email protected]
314 vandanachandra97 [email protected]
315 Suraj Das [email protected]
316 ramyamohan317 [email protected]
317 ChiragVajani [email protected]
319 SUMALATHA PHIRANGI [email protected]
320 Dr.Gangadhar B Sonar [email protected]
321 PalasSamanta [email protected]
322 prakashthrat [email protected]
323 sarkar.mls [email protected]
324 swatiparab [email protected]
325 ShreelekhaKawade [email protected]
326 DRONALI TALUKDAR [email protected]
327 Swati AR [email protected]
328 Sanjay Khanna [email protected]
329 vspra [email protected]
330 Gurumurthy.V [email protected]
331 girishrampalupadhyay [email protected]
332 M.Anjel Catherin [email protected]
333 elawad.2010 [email protected]
334 Prashant [email protected]
335 Usha Patel [email protected]
336 Usha Patel [email protected]
337 BoinPrashamsa [email protected]
338 Dr.Akshay Kumar [email protected]
339 Nitin Rathi [email protected]
340 KRITIKA SUMAN [email protected]
341 KALPANA PANDA [email protected]
342 ShantaramNaik [email protected]
346 Manisha Pokharkar [email protected]
347 Mridul Mishra [email protected]
348 kseema946 [email protected]
349 AFREEN BEGUM [email protected]
350 BiohmConsultare [email protected]
352 VINU K J [email protected]
353 Muniswamy Vasu [email protected]
354 SUDIPTA PAL [email protected]
355 COLLECTOR OFFICE -
BANASKANTHA
356 Dr Narendra Vaidya [email protected]
357 NLathwal [email protected]
358 Dr Saravanan T T [email protected]
359 Kanu Patel [email protected]
362 Subhajit [email protected]
363 MITESH [email protected]
364 KALPANA PANDA [email protected]
365 Rajiv Kumar [email protected]
366 DR shantaram D shinde [email protected]
367 SardarRameezSudhan [email protected]
368 santosh [email protected]
369 kanupriyajha25 [email protected]
370 CARTHIGUEANE NSS RD PUNE [email protected]
372 Dr Venu Gopal Raju S V [email protected]
373 DR mahendrasingh cg [email protected]
374 Prasad JairamKoyande [email protected]
375 k [email protected]
377 jerin [email protected]
378 pro.vs.bsnl [email protected]
379 calexander [email protected]
381 PRITI VASAVA [email protected]
382 kishordhruw [email protected]
385 akangkcha Pradhan [email protected]
387 Dr.Hanspreet [email protected]
388 Esther Jamnik [email protected]
389 Dr. Suman Lata [email protected]
390 Nitin Rathi [email protected]
391 M.Anjel Catherin [email protected]
392 Kanai Bhattacharjee [email protected]
393 sumijain
395 Radhika [email protected]
396 Vimal Tiwari [email protected]
397 parimalaraokk [email protected]
398 j.jeyapradhap [email protected]
399 Dr. N Islam Babu [email protected]
400 anild883 [email protected]
401 saswatichoudhury [email protected]
402 ROSLYN L CHANGSAN [email protected]
403 Pritesh Tungar [email protected]
404 ArunaShadhikantYadhwante [email protected]
405 prashanth [email protected]
407 Rishikumar R [email protected]
408 AnumitaMondal [email protected]
409 AnumitaMondal [email protected]
410 VINU K J [email protected]
411 ShahinoorAlam [email protected]
412 Ajay Rautela [email protected]
413 munnaalfaz786 [email protected]
414 Vinod Kumar Yadav [email protected]
416 AnumitaMondal [email protected]
417 Zil Gala [email protected]
418 sana [email protected]
419 Parvaiz Ahmad Pir [email protected]
420 manjuvishal [email protected]
421 Dr Desh Deepak [email protected]
422 D. Banumathi [email protected]
423 VivekanandVijaykumar Kadam [email protected]
424 Dr Venu Gopal Raju S V [email protected]
425 Abasaheb P. Kale [email protected]
426 sateesh [email protected]
427 ShantaramNaik [email protected]
428 Usha Patel [email protected]
429 thanks [email protected]
430 Kousalya V Kumar [email protected]
434 DEEPAK MEHTA [email protected]
435 Rita [email protected]
Key take Away Points
1. Ensure safe migration of workers, isolation for 2 weeks and offer of test of Covid 19.
2. Non Pharmacological interventions to control the spread of virus are important.
3. Need to analyse alternative models of helath care in other countries to deal with the
Pandemic
4. Ned of the hour is to undertake steps to prevent burnout of health workers
5. Low Outbreak states can send their experienced health teams to Sates with high
outbreak of the disease.
6. NIMHANS has undertaken several interventions to deal with the increase in mental
health issues amongst the community and patients.
7. Undertake Self assessment Check developed by Radhee Foundation
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Concept Note on Webinar
Immunity and Mental Health in Pandemic and Concurrent Disaster
Joint Initiative of NIDM and RADHEE
Webinar Initiative National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and RADHEE Disaster and Education Foundation have taken a joint initiative to conduct a webinar with speakers from NIDM, RADHEE, ICMR and NIMHANS.
Objective of Webinar • Sanitize the decision makers and citizen about importance of Immunity and Mental
Health during pandemic and concurrent disaster as a part of capacity building
• Combat COVID-19 by Strengthening Immunity
Background The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Till July 3, the virus has spread in 215 countries affecting 109 million people, causing more than 5.23 lac deaths. Most of the country where high mortality is reported is due to poor immunity of the people and lack of health care infrastructure capacity. USA, European countries had best of health are infrastructure for normal situation but couldn’t handle the increasing number of COVID 19 cases which has increased mortality in those countries.
COVID-19 Disease Corona Virus named SARS-COV2 is enveloped RNA virus which is one of the deadliest viruses as it spreads through respiratory secretions and it survives in different surfaces from 4 hours to 7 days. Post infection incubation period varies from 0 to 21 days and in some cases, it is seen up to 45 days. In many cases, post infection, patients have been reporting of re-infection making it extremely complicated virus to understand and deal with. Lock down, Face mask and physical distancing of 3 feet is helping to reduce the spread but is not the solution. People infected with COVID-19 diseases are categorised in 5 stages
i. Asymptomatic – does not show any medical symptoms
ii. Mild Symptoms – symptoms are mild in nature and can be treated at home.
iii. Moderate Symptoms – require continuous medical attention and hospitalization
iv. Sever Symptoms – require ICU care
v. Critical – require life support
Stress created by negative media news, economic impact, lockdown and fear of getting infected is reducing the immunity of the citizen and many patients are elevating into moderate symptoms and critical category who require hospitalization. Strengthening the immune system
2
will limit the impact of disease in the body to Asymptomatic or Mild Symptoms not requiring hospitalization thereby reducing deaths and burden on healthcare infrastructure.
Pandemic response in India On March 22 India observed voluntary Janta Curfew and followed it up with countrywide lockdown. Till July 3, India has 6,27,168 cases and 18,225 deaths in the country. Number of cases in the country are on rise and the healthcare system is overwhelmed. The government is adding more beds in the hospitals for severely ill patients. It has also reached out to private hospitals to get them to scale up their capacity for Covid-19 patients. Extensive testing and lockdown are playing a vital role in controlling the number of cases. PPE, Mask, physical distancing, infected people their contacts are quarantine which is also helping in controlling the infection. Approval of many medicines for treatment and clinical trial, plasma therapy is helping in reducing the number of fatalities. Antibody test will also help in knowing the person’s sustainability of getting infected but is not full proof solution. Vaccination and Researchers have mapped immune responses from COVID-19 patients, showing the body's ability to fight the virus and recover from the infection. According to the WHO, 80% of new Covid-19 cases are mild or asymptomatic not requiring Hospitalization and ICU care. Strong Immunity of human beings will be a game changer in fight against COVID-19 pandemic and it could increase asymptomatic and mild symptom patient’s proportion to 90-95%.
Pandemic and Concurrent Disaster During the COVID-19 pandemic, India has already witnessed 2 major cyclone Amphan and Nisarg. This has added difficulties to the already stressed response agencies as well as citizen. Currently due to monsoon season many parts of the country is facing deaths due floods and lightening. Epidemics like Dengue and Malaria has caused few deaths across the country.
Need of Hour It is a need of the hour to develop a holistic approach in public health post disaster response. This would help in reducing the health issues during any pandemic, epidemic or post disaster by strengthening the immunity and working on mental health.
Immune System The immune system protects the body against disease or other potentially damaging foreign bodies. When functioning properly, the immune system identifies and attacks a variety of threats, including viruses, bacteria and parasites, while distinguishing them from the body's own healthy tissue. Cortisol is a stress hormone released for helping the body deal with stressful situations. However, when cortisol levels are too high for longer period, it is harmful for immune system. Thus, due to continuous stress Immunity is impaired which leads to reduction in producing Lymphocytes (WBCs) which are vital component of Immune system to fight pathogens.
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Strong immunity will protect the body from being susceptible to diseases. Even if one gets disease, strong immunity will keep a person asymptomatic or mild symptomatic not requiring hospitalization and ICU care.
Immunity is a Package Immunity is combination of Mental Health, Physical Health and Balanced Diet. Working on entire package is needed to improve the Immunity as working on one aspect only doesn’t improve the immunity. Most of the people believe that eating certain type of food or doing walking, running, exercise or yoga will improve their immunity, however, it is seen in many cases that such people may have some or the other health issue due to underlying stress, anxiety, fear, sleep disorder etc.
Mental Health and Disaster Experiencing a disaster can cause stress for families and develop disorders like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Mental health disorders noted during disasters can be classified into acute phase (1-3 months) and long-term phase (>3 months). Pandemic or Disaster Survivors may exhibit a range of physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms. This heightened emotional state is similar to classical fight/flight/freeze reaction of stress. Affected person may not be in a position to think and act rationally during disaster
Immunity and Mental Health A Healthy Mind is a must to maintain a healthy body and mental health plays vital role in Immunity strengthening. When an individual is stressed, the immune system's ability to fight off antigens is reduced. That is when he/she is more susceptible to infections. The stress hormone corticosteroid can suppress the effectiveness of the immune system. T-lymphocytes, one type of immune cells present in our blood, play a significant role in regulating the emotional response.
Problem Statement As per the CIGNA 360 Well-Being Survey, 2019, 89% of India's population is suffering from stress and 75% of respondents do not feel comfortable talking to a medical professional. These statistics are before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic which would further rise due to fear and anxiety created by the lockdown and spread of disease. Few reasons that add to health problem includes:
• Work and finances are the key reasons for people to attribute their stress
• Economic slowdown and loss of jobs is an additional stimulant to stress
• Fear of getting infected or guilt of infecting others with COVID-19 is causing anxiety
• Physical exercise and food habits are impacted due to lockdown
• Mental health is not discussed and considered as taboo
Most of Indians are not conscious about their physical and mental health. Especially recognizing and accepting mental health problem is off-limits.
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Worries about the future and continuous fear of catching COVID-19 could create chronic stress that could result in development of diseases and autoimmune disorders. Due to stress, digestion could also be impaired which is the cause for lack of required vitamins, minerals and essential nutrition thus reducing the disease fighting capacity of the body.
Solution by RADHEE: Self-Immunity Check RADHEE has developed the web application “Self-Immunity Check”, which is a complete package where mental health, physical health and diet are included in one platform and people can get customized answer by set of recommendation to work on their Immunity. Mental Health questions in the Self-Immunity Check will help the citizen to identifying the acute phase of mental health issue and recommendation will help in taking corrective measures thus reducing the person going into to chronic phase of mental health issues. The objective of the web application “Self-Immunity Check”, is to enroll people through a self-assessment of their Physical and Mental Health and put them on track to take remedial actions to strengthen their immunity. Indians culture does not accept mental health as a subject of discussion and dialogue. The application aims to sensitize and educate individuals about the signs and symptoms of mental illness while normalizing the idea of seeking support and working on remedial measures.
Outcome of “Webinar” • Tool for preventive steps to reduce the impact of COVID-19
• Flatten the curve and help to restart the normal life
• Capacity building for SDMA, DDMA, VDMA to reduce the impact of pandemic and concurrent disaster
• Reduce epidemic outbreak by strengthening the immunity post disaster
• Reduce acute psychological issues post pandemic and concurrent disasters
• Reduce suicide cases post disaster
Who Should Attend? • Every Indian Citizen
• Decision maker in SDMA, DDMA, VDMA
• Decision makers in Public Health
• Decision makers in Mental Health
• Professionals working in the field of public health, mental health and disaster
• NGO, CBO, Community Leaders etc. working in field of public health, mental health and disaster
• Corporate organizations working in the field of public health, mental health and disaster
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About NIDM National Institute of Disaster Management abbr. NIDM, is a premier institute for training and capacity development programs for managing natural disasters in India, on a national as well as regional basis.
About RADHEE RADHEE Disaster and Education Foundation is a team of professionals working in the field of Public Health, Golden Hour Management for Trauma Patients, Road Accident Prevention and Disaster Risk Reduction. RADHEE has worked in multiple states across India to reduce the aftermath of accidents, disasters and health emergencies through advocacy, awareness, planning and training. Currently RADHEE is functional as Consultants to the Government of Odisha for Golden Hour Management in Trauma Patients in the State.
Conceptualized by: Dr Rita Savla, Founder Director RADHEE Disaster and Education Foundation.
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