Healthcare professionals battle Covid fatigue as pandemic enters 3rd year

New Delhi: Covid fatigue among healthcare professionals is real, says 39-year-old Dr Samir Khurana, recalling how the pandemic and its severe waves in the last two years have left him and many from his fraternity “mentally and physically exhausted”.

But for Khurana (name changed) the biggest fear was he becoming the spreader of the infection at home. “It was a huge part of the already stressful and tiring times we were facing,” he said.

“I vividly remember the day the first Covid case was diagnosed at the medical facility in Delhi that I work in. My shift had just begun and we were updated with the report. I wore my personal protective equipment (PPE) and started treating patients,” he said.

Khurana, who did not want his or the hospital’s name to be revealed, said initially he felt claustrophobic in PPE, but “now it has become my uniform”.

“Since 2020, we are constantly on our toes. Covid fatigue is real for healthcare professionals who have been tirelessly working for the past two years,” he said. Recalling how he lived in a small room on his terrace in isolation after his shift and on some days never returned home, Khurana said, “I had to protect my family, especially my elderly parents who are in their 80s.”

With the pandemic on the verge of entering its third year, Khurana said he and many others feel mentally and physically exhausted.” “My daughter will start kindergarten this year and I feel I have missed the first two years of her life. Even now I isolate myself from my family members and do not participate in family functions,” he said.

The first case of Covid was reported in India in January 2020 and since then three waves of the virus have struck the country, infecting over 3.92 crore people and claiming 4.89 lakh lives.

India is currently reeling under the third wave of Covid which is driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant.

Experts say the pandemic has put healthcare professionals through an extreme test of resilience both physically and mentally.

Medical officer in-charge at a government health facility in Delhi, Dr Sajid Anwar, said when the pandemic began, panic and hysteria was all around.

“More than maintaining our safety it was necessary that our patients followed safety measures which they were not. They would not wear masks properly, and didn’t maintain proper distancing while waiting. Even those with symptoms were not willing to get tested,” he said.

Anwar said though people are now aware of norms he still worries about the safety of his family. “On the work front I was confident that I could manage my patients, but personally it was a very difficult time. My daughter was two months old. For her safety, I sent her and my wife to her grandparent’s house,” he said.

It was a stressful time, Anwar said, adding that the pandemic has taken a huge mental and physical toll on the healthcare fraternity.