Lockdown, Mass Vaccination, Makeshift Hospitals: Dr Fauci's Advice To India

He also recommended taking the help of the armed forces to immediately build makeshift field hospitals.

Expressing concern over the unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases in India, America's top public health expert and White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr Anthony Fauci on Monday recommended a nationwide lockdown, massive vaccination drive and the construction of a large number of makeshift hospitals. "It is quite obvious to everyone that the situation in India is extremely serious," Dr Fauci, who is considered one of the world's top infectious disease specialists, told news agency PTI in an interview. "When you have so many people getting infected... the lack of the capability to take adequate care of everyone; when you have shortages of hospital beds and oxygen and shortages of supplies, that really becomes a very desperate situation. Which is the reason why we feel it''s important for the rest of the world to help out, to the extent they can," Dr Fauci said. Keeping a close tab on developments in India, given that US President Joe Biden has geared up the administration to help India, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said there are certain things that India can do immediately, mid-term and long-term basis.