key: cord-1033325-xzcml5nv
authors: Uvais, Nalakath A; Rasmina, Vaniyadathil
title: Physician Deaths in India During COVID-19 Pandemic
date: 2020-09-14
journal: Occup Med (Lond)
DOI: 10.1093/occmed/kqaa159
sha: 2158fc20649d30473b1ac4b9c11e6cabb03a6d65
doc_id: 1033325
cord_uid: xzcml5nv

nan

Dear Sir, We read the report 'Physician deaths from corona virus (COVID-19) disease' by Ing et al., with great concern [1] . The authors conducted a Google search and found reports of 278 physician deaths due to COVID-19. The average age of death was 63.7 years, 90% were males, and a significant number of them worked as general practitioners and emergency room doctors [1] . However, the report did not cover physician deaths in India, the second most populous country and a COVID-19 hotspot.

India lost its first doctor to COVID-19 on 9 April 2020 [2] . A recent study showed that there were 104 COVID-19-related physician deaths in India. Around 55% of deaths were below the age of 60 years, 30% were below the age of 50 years and 21% were below the age of 40 years [3] . The average age of death was 56 years (range: 22-96 years), which is lower than Ing et al. report, but consistent with the much higher proportion of younger people in India. Consistent with Ing et al., 92% of the doctors were males and around half worked as general practitioners. Around 27% of deaths were in surgical specialties [3] . As India currently has the highest number of COVID-19 cases per day, there is an urgent need to protect doctors and other front-line workers through education and training and adequate provision of appropriate personal protective equipment.

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