More than 120,000 Indian origin medicos at the forefront.
Indian Americans make up less than one percent of America’s population, but one out of every seven doctors in the US is of Indian heritage, providing medical care to over 40 million people.
No wonder, they are at the forefront of the fight against covid-19 in the US, where the pandemic has claimed over 43,000 lives, leading the worldwide toll of 171,000.
“The pandemic has placed the entire healthcare sector, and in particular the Indian American medical fraternity at the frontlines of the fight against the pandemic,” said Dr. Seema Arora, chairperson of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) Board of Trustees.
Apart from about 80,000 practicing Indian American physicians fighting covid-19, some 40,000 medical students, residents, and fellows of Indian origin are supporting many of the hospitals affected by the pandemic.
“We have a proud moment, it is (also) a scary moment,” said AAPI president Dr Suresh Reddy, describing the situation under which the physicians of Indian Origin are serving people infected with the virus.
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“They tend to work disproportionately in areas that are medically underserved like rural and inner city areas taking on a heavier workload with patients who are more ill,” he said. “We are definitely in the frontline fighting this deadly battle.”
“Even in the midst of scare and fear, healthcare workers including physicians report to work with or without adequate protective equipment to save the lives of others knowing that they could be the next victim,” said Dr Narendra R. Kumar, past president of AAPI.
The largest ethnic medical organization in the country has taken several proactive steps in educating their members and the general public about the disease, said AAPI president-elect Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda.
Describing Indian American physicians as “the real heroes” Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, vice president of AAPI said, “Several immigrant physicians work in the New York and New Jersey regions, the epic center of the pandemic.”
Even as they fight the pandemic, many of them are struggling with Green Card backlog and temporary visa plans, he said. “These are the true saviors and unsung heroes saving the lives of so many Americans.”
There have been proud moments too for the Indian American doctors. Last week, Dr Uma Madhusudana, who graduated from Mysore Medical College, and is currently working in a New York hospital treating covid-19 patients, was honored in a unique way.
More than 200 cars with recovered patients, relatives and police passed in front of her house to express their gratitude for her services. It was indeed a proud moment indeed for the Indian-American medical fraternity.