To Secure Oxygen For COVID-19 Patients Now And Into The Future, What Steps Must Be Taken
New waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in countries, such as Kenya and India, have exposed the poor management of oxygen supplies. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Professor Trevor Duke, an expert on [oxygen provision] and editor of the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on oxygen therapy for children, to provide insights into what countries, with limited resources, can do to secure better supplies.
Why is oxygen so important for treating COVID-19?
The SARS CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19 pneumonia and hypoxaemia. Hypoxaemia is a lack of oxygen in the blood – the most important complication of COVID-19 pneumonia and a major cause of death.
A few antiviral drugs have been effective in treating COVID-19 infection however, in severe pneumonia, oxygen relieves hypoxaemia. It...