Some did not take a single day’s leave from their outpatient department duties through the pandemic; some got the virus themselves but joined back immediately on recovery; some performed crucial surgeries without knowing whether the patient under the scalpel would test positive for Covid-19 or not as there was no time to lose in waiting for the report… Doctors of all ages and specialisations gathered to celebrate the bravest amongst them who served society through the coronavirus crisis at a programme held recently at The Stadel.

Protect the Warriors (PTW), an umbrella body of doctors created towards the start of the pandemic, had organised the felicitation of 42 frontline healthcare workers and some from other professions too.

“We fought, we got hurt, some of us died. Yet we are fighting. We want everyone to get the vaccine though we are grateful that health workers have been given the priority. Many of us have taken the vaccine and we are all fine,” announced PTW vice-president Suddhasatwya Chatterjee, senior consultant, internal medicine, Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals.

PTW secretary Abhik Ghosh, who is a senior ENT consultant at Apollo, outlined the journey of the organisation. “We started with 25 doctors 10 months ago. When the lockdown was declared, there was not enough protective gear available for the medical community treating Covid-19 patients. Some of us decided to raise funds for the purpose. That was our first mission. Today, we have 1,000 doctors with us. It has become a social platform and we are working in eight districts.”

He went on to describe the activities undertaken by Protect the Warriors, some of which have expanded beyond the ambit of Covid-19 — feeding 2,000 streetchildren in conjunction with the NGO Food Education Economic Development, taking charge of the education of 50 children in Boronti village in Purulia, reaching supply of essentials door-to-door in Diamond Harbour, offering free tele-consulation by specialist doctors to over 750 individuals and providing pulse oxymeters to 110 familes in home isolation in the Bidhannagar Assembly constituency area on a request from local MLA Sujit Bose.

There was a two-minute silence in memory of those who lost their lives to Covid-19 before the felicitations began.

Doing the honours were two people revered by the medical community. One was Sukumar Mukherjee, aged 84 and described as the “teacher of teachers” by Chatterjee, who was the first to take the vaccine in the state on January 16.

Mukherjee reminded the gathering that exactly a year had passed since India’s first positive case was reported in Kerala. “Since then, 1.5 lakh people have sacrificed their lives.” The biggest challenge that the zoonotic virus posed, he pointed out, was that its genetic sequencing was unknown, a reason why it had taken years to discover vaccines for plague and rabies. “But it was done within 12 days in China after they reported their first case on December 31. This is a major reason why the development of the vaccines could be put on a fast track.”

He warned everyone that the pandemic was not over. “The virus is craftier than the human brain,” he said, referring to the three mutants reported in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. The Spanish Flu, he said, took a greater toll on the young. “This time, it is the reverse. But if we can vaccinate fast, we can save our elderly population.” Referring to the debate over whether it was safe to take the vaccine while being on blood thinners, he said he was on aspirin while he took the shot. “I will test for antibodies in March but no one knows how long the antibody will last. Maybe yearly vaccination will be necessary for the next two years,” he said, signing off with the message: “Be positive, think positive but with knowledge”.

The other guest on stage was Shyamal Kumar Basu, a former principal of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, who had many of the attending doctors pass out during his tenure. “You have saved so many lives by not just medical consultation but with social service. I’d have been privileged if I could be part of your activities,” he lauded his former students and their peers.

Other than the doctors who were felicitated, there were bank employees, civic workers, firemen, police and media personnel. “All of you went out and provided service when the nation stayed locked down at home,” said PTW treasurer Anirban Dalui, who has recently joined as assistant professor, department of community medicine, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Among those who got the biggest applause was Prosenjit Dey, a youth who had come all the way to Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals from Arambagh to donate plasma for the Covid-affected father of a senior schoolmate, who was a stranger to him.

The programme ended with Suman Mitra, consultant in medicine at Calcutta Medical Research Institute, singing Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna.