Gasping For Breath

In 2020 March, when the sudden lockdown was imposed, one thing that was on every TV channel was the Tablighi Jamaat. No one knew about Tablighi Jamaat and that they were holding a meeting in Nizamuddin till then. But overnight the vilification, the name-calling, and the targeting of Muslims across the country as super spreaders was taken over by TV debates. Instead of spreading awareness, the media chose to stigmatise a section of the population. It hampered community outreach and communicating effectively. For this episode, Suno India's editor-in-chief DVL Padma Priya spoke to Ashima Mandla, an advocate with the Delhi high court to understand the issue better and the role of language in health communication.

This series has been made possible by a grant from the Thakur Family Foundation.

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The Sirens of ambulances and mortuary vans, relatives of patients running around with Oxygen cylinders, and empty roads because of lockdowns. Were some unforgettable scenes from the COVID lockdown in March 2021. From what seemed like a complete failure of the system rose some heroes who stood their ground and took risks on themselves to keep others alive. One such person is Saurabh Sonawane, a doctor by graduation and an IAS officer of the 2017 batch of Indian administrative services.

In this episode, Suno India's editor-in-chief DVL Padma Priya spoke with him about the role of communication in this emergency. She also asked him about the migrant crisis and intercommunication between different state governments and the national government.

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In this episode of Talking Right, Suno India's editor-in-chief DVL Padma reported over the course of the pandemic, we bring to you a conversation with Dr Yogesh Kalkonde, a renowned public health researcher. Dr Kalkonde works for SEARCH, Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health. He primarily works in the rural part of India.

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In this episode, Suno India editor-in-chief DVL Padma Priya spoke with Dr Mittali Sethi, an IAS officer from the 2017 batch. When the lockdown was imposed Dr Sethi was posted as the Project Officer for the integrated tribal development project (ITDP) in Dharni village,  in Melghat of Maharashtra’s Amravati region. This became the first village to reach 100 % vaccination status when the vaccine was rolled out for the above 45 years old population. She shared the strategies she employed to spread awareness about covid, myth busts about the disease, and increase the uptake of vaccination. Dr. Sethi is an enthusiastic officer and currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad in Chandrapur District of Maharashtra. 

This series has been made possible by a grant from the Thakur Family Foundation.

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his episode sets the context about why it is important to communicate well during a pandemic like COVID-19 and features discussions between Suno India editor-in-chief DVL Padma Priya and Prof Anant Bhan, a researcher in Global health, bioethics, and health policy who works for a not-for-profit health policy organisation Sangath and also Dr. Usha Raman, professor at the Department of Communications at the University of Hyderabad.

This series has been made possible by a grant from the Thakur Family Foundation.

Resources:
India readies itself to address the threat of pandemic influenza
India’s Pandemic Preparedness and Response 

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This is the last reported episode in season 2 of Gasping for Breath. In this episode, Suno India’s Menaka Rao has an extended chat with Girish Pasupathy, a software engineer from Coimbatore who is living with Long Covid after nearly a year of sickness. Girish has changed his life and outlook towards the disease and disability over a period of time. He is learning to live with long covid and has learned to advocate for himself.

References

Episode #47 - Post COVID-19 condition
What causes Long Covid? Here are the three leading theories | Science
Could tiny blood clots cause long COVID’s puzzling symptoms?
Combined triple treatment of fibrin amyloid microclots and platelet pathology in individuals with Long COVID/ Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) can resolve their persistent symptoms
Persistent clotting protein pathology in Long COVID/Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) is accompanied by increased levels of antiplasmin | Cardiovascular Diabetology | Full Text
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves neurocognitive functions and symptoms of post-COVID condition: randomized controlled trial | Scientific Reports
Could microclots help explain the mystery of long Covid? | Resia Pretorius | The Guardian

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In this episode of the Gasping for Breath. In this episode, we discuss how long covid affects your work life. Students suffering from long covid have had to delay giving competitive exams for instance. We spoke to people who missed out on opportunities, took much less work or had to take time off work. 

References
Guidance on “Long COVID” as a Disability Under the ADA, Section | HHS.gov
Sickness and absence because of long COVID: Long COVID – advice for employers and employees - Acas
New data shows long Covid is keeping as many as 4 million people out of work

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In this episode of Gasping for Breath season 2, we raise a question- Is Long Covid a disability?

In 2021, the Americans with Disabilities Act recognised Long Covid as a disability. 

In June, a tribunal in the UK recognised long covid as a disability. This case was filed by a man suffering from Long covid who was sacked from his job and wanted permission to sue his employer. 

So in this episode, Suno India’s Menaka Rao spoke to Amba Salelka, a lawyer working on disability rights and implementation of Convention of Rights of Persons with Disability. She spoke about how people with long covid can advocate for their rights under The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016

References 

Guidance on “Long COVID” as a Disability Under the ADA, Section | HHS.gov
Long Covid is a disability, tribunal rules in landmark case
THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2016
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | OHCHR.
Question Sets - The Washington Group on Disability Statistics

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This episode of Gasping for Breath is an attempt to understand Long Covid from the scientific community. We try to understand what is known about Long covid, what are its different manifestations, what are its possible causes and what are the possible ways to manage the disease.
This episode features Dr Ashwin Rajenesh and Dr Sarath Menon from Kerala and Dr Asad Khan from the UK.

References

A clinical case definition of post COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus, 6 October 2021
Characterizing long COVID in an international cohort: 7 months of symptoms and their impact
http://www.euro-me.org/Documents/Library/magical-medicine.pdf
What causes Long Covid? Here are the three leading theories | Science
Persistent clotting protein pathology in Long COVID/Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) is accompanied by increased levels of antiplasmin | Cardiovascular Diabetology | Full Text
Could microclots help explain the mystery of long Covid? | Resia Pretorius | The Guardian
Recommendations for the recognition, diagnosis, and management of long COVID: a Delphi study | British
Journal of General Practice
Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK : 6 May 2022

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In this episode, the survivors of Long Covid discuss their experiences with doctors. Most of them have been gaslighted by the medical fraternity. Medical gaslighting makes patients question their own experiences and make them wonder if they are legitimate. 

In this episode, Suno India’s Padma Priya DVL describes her journey of simply trying to get a diagnosis for her condition. Joining her are Girish, Chinmay, and Sourya from the previous episodes. 

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