During the phase II of the COVID-19 pandemic, several patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic cases were reaching the health facilities across Pan India locations, for testing. Though the number of tests conducted per day was increasing, there was a wide gap between the growing number of cases and testing swabs available.
Testing provides a window into the pandemic, especially in case of rapidly spreading virus such as
COVID 19. Ideally, testing should be one step ahead of transmission so that infected people can be traced, quarantined and the chain of transmission broken. Hence, the weekly growth rate of testing and not just the daily increase in the number of tests conducted becomes a more credible unit to measure the pandemic. There were several states that, due to paucity of resources didn’t increase the pace of testing when hit by the second wave. Due to the increasing number of individuals reaching out for testing, an urgent need for the swab sticks to conduct Covid 19 testing was felt at several State run Govt hospitals and health facilities.
AMERICARES was already worked along with Johnson & Johnson to provide relief support to hospital during the first phase of COVID 19 pandemic. During this second wave, with support from Johnson & Johnson, Americares India Foundation mobilized support to 22 Health Family Welfare departments of respective states across Pan India to face the onslaught of the second wave of Covid 19 pandemic. A total of 2,617,297 swabs were provided to Health & Family Welfare Departments to conduct COVID 19 tests for more than 13 lakh individuals. The support helped in early and accurate detection of symptomatic & asymptomatic cases and helping in early diagnosis & treatment.