Coronavirus: States asked to fill 227 vacancies of epidemiologists

Covid-19 in India: A letter, issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on April 7, directs the states to fill 382 vacancies under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

The Central government has directed states to fill up 382 vacancies of medical and other staff across the country to ensure the availability of “qualified human resources” during the coronavirus pandemic.

A doctor wearing protective gear prepares to take a swab from a girl to test for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a residential area in Ahmedabad. (REUTERS)

A letter, issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on April 7, directs the states to fill these vacancies under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

Of the vacancies, the maximum – 227 – are for epidemiologists. As many as 11 states do not have a state-level epidemiologist.

Epidemiologists study patterns of frequency and the causes and effects of diseases in human populations.

The other vacancies include that of data managers, veterinarians, financial consultants and microbiologists.

The issue of the vacancies was highlighted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a virtual meeting with the chief ministers on April 3, the health ministry letter said. HT has seen a copy of the letter.

The decision to fill the vacancies of epidemiologists and other required posts is to ensure “surveillance activities of Covid-19”, the letter states.

An epidemiology professor who did not wish to be named said that ideally every district under the lDSP should have at least one epidemiologist along with one state epidemiologist.