As the second wave overwhelmed hospitals and India's health infrastructure, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said that as many as 420 doctors succumbed to COVID-19 all over India.
State-wise data compiled by the IMA shows that while 100 doctors died in Delhi, at least 96 died in Bihar and 41 casualties of doctors were reported from Uttar Pradesh, according to NDTV.
Other states, such as Gujarat, has reported 19 deaths, 20 in Telangana, 16 in West Bengal and Odisha each, while Maharashtra has had 15 COVID-related deaths amongst doctors.
Earlier, on 17 May, former IMA president Dr KK Aggarwal also lost his life to the infection, at the age of 65. In an official statement posted on his Twitter account, it was confirmed that the late doctor had received both doses of the COVID vaccination.
According to IMA's COVID data, at least 748 doctors died due to the infection in the first wave of the pandemic. This number is likely to be higher, as the national voluntary organisation of doctors keeps a record of only its 3.5 lakh-strong members, while the country has more than 12 lakh doctors.
India recorded over 2.57 lakh new cases, as of 22 May, taking the country’s total infection tally to over 2.6 crore. With 4,194 new fatalities, the overall death toll is now at 2.95 lakh.
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