Thank you, FPJ and Dr Harish Shetty!

The Free Press Journal kindly listed me among the “Angels of Mumbai” in 2021 for a few things we did to help our fellow citizens during this COVID pandemic. I am pleasantly surprised, and a bit overwhelmed at the acknowledgment. It is only a small contribution in a colossal global catastrophe running over the past […]

Six “COVID control” policies that should be strongly opposed

Since the start of the COVID pandemic, there have been several policies that were used early on, and that make very little sense now that much more information is available about viral transmission. But they continue to be used by various state governments in varying degrees. This article will call out some obvious ones that […]

Booster dose for COVID vaccination: Needed or Not?

It is well known that two doses of COVID vaccination – whether it is Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Covishield or Covaxin – offer excellent protection against moderate and severe COVID (95-97%) but not against mild and asymptomatic disease (28%). Booster doses have been a matter of speculation since the early days of COVID vaccination when it was […]

“Excess Mortality” due to COVID: A reality check

It has long been speculated that the actual mortality due to COVID pandemic is much higher than official numbers, not only in India but in several other countries. New York Governor Andre Cuomo has been caught repeatedly fudging mortality data. The UK government too was accused of under-reporting COVID deaths in the first wave of […]

Project Sharan: An initiative to support education of COVID orphans

The ongoing COVID pandemic has devastated several thousands of families. It is estimated that over 10,000 families have lost one parent and over 1,000 children have lost both parents in the second wave alone. Through our non-profit PEHL Services, we aim to support the education of a hundred children from lower socioeconomic strata who have […]

“Mumbai Model” of COVID management: Legit or overhyped?

Let me make it clear at the outset that I greatly appreciate the tireless hard work and extreme risk that ground workers and administrative officials of the Brihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika (BMC)) have undergone during this pandemic. This article is an attempt at a genuine critique of the so-called “Mumbai Model” insofar as its hits and misses […]

Managing The Oxygen Crisis: Supply Chain, Rationing and Permanent Solutions

Oxygen is the single most important medicine for moderate-severe COVID patients. COVID as well as non-COVID hospitals are facing an acute shortage of medical oxygen. The reason is not a lack of production of oxygen, but the inadequacy of the distribution network of tankers to transport liquid oxygen from the point of manufacture to the […]