For a century, the Indian Council of Medical Research was a little known government body quietly studying illnesses in New Delhi. But during the pandemic, it¡¯s taken on a role akin to Anthony Fauci¡¯s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the U.S. ¡ª a powerful position that¡¯s made it a controversial face of India¡¯s struggles with COVID-19.
As the ICMR has acted as a key medical adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his health ministry, it has increasingly drawn criticism from the nation¡¯s doctors and independent scientists, who have questioned its drug recommendations and the group¡¯s lack of transparency on data related to variants identified in India that are now spreading globally.
India struggled to curb the world¡¯s fastest coronavirus surge this summer, and public health experts are warning that the country is ill prepared to face a possible third wave of infections. Some of the ICMR¡¯s decisions during the pandemic reflect the broad chaos that¡¯s dogged India¡¯s overwhelmed government apparatus, and have ended up benefiting the pharmaceutical industry rather than patients, critics say.
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