Medical oxygen production, supply, and infrastructure augmentation during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: A narrative review

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, the primary symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and fatigue, while more serious cases present with dyspnea (difficulty breathing) and chest pain. The medical use of oxygen therapy is a common life support treatment for numerous diseases at multiple levels of health care in India. An abrupt spike in medical oxygen demand (nearly 100 – 200 fold) has been observed in regions such as South America, Africa, and Asia, including India. Governments of the respective countries have implemented policy decisions to tackle medical oxygen shortage during the pandemic. In this narrative review, we describe and summarize the actions taken by the Indian government to manage the medical oxygen requirement during the deadly COVID-19 waves in India. Searches were conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar databases, and websites of various ministries and departments of the Government of India, covering the period from January 2020 to January 31, 2023. Qualitative data were extracted using pre-defined themes from published documents related to medical oxygen supply during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Indian context. This narrative review summarizes the state of medical oxygen during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on medical oxygen production, supply, infrastructure augmentation, pressure swing adsorption plants, capacity building, web application, and monitoring mechanisms. The 76th World Health Assembly has also adopted the Access to Medical Oxygen Resolution to prevent deaths and ensure that no country faces an oxygen shortage, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.