The Indian Medical Association on May 20 released fresh figures on COVID-related fatalities among doctors, saying 329 of them succumbed to the disease during the ongoing second wave of the pandemic.

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Bihar alone saw 80 deaths, the maximum among states, followed by Delhi (73), Uttar Pradesh (41), Andhra Pradesh (22) and Telangana (20), the IMA said. According to the IMA COVID-19 registry, 748 doctors had died due to the disease during the first wave of the pandemic. IMA President Dr JA Jayalal said the IMA maintains a registry based only on the input of its various branches across the country. "We do not want to release the name list as it is a sensitive matter," he said.

Asked as to how many of these doctors had been fully vaccinated, Dr Jayalal said, "We are not confident about the vaccination status of all, But by the data we got, not (being) fully vaccinated is the main cause (of the deaths)." He further stated that on an average, at least 20 doctors are dying per day due to COVID-19. These include doctors working in government facilities, private hospitals and medical colleges. "The second wave of the pandemic is turning out to be extremely fatal for all and especially those who are at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19," Jayalal had said earlier.