COVID-19, the novel Coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, had spread rapidly across the globe in the short period of the year. Since it was a new disease, there was no medical intervention available at the outset of the pandemic. Hence, the only mode of prevention was various non-pharmacological interventions, of various levels, at various levels, that could have saved any country from the wrath of this baleful virus. Prevention and preparedness have been the critical factors in the appropriate management at the country level. Indian government acted pro-actively in the implementation of preventive strategies right from the unfolding of the events at the far south end of the country. The government of India started thermal screening at a few of the airports on the 17th of January, which is way before the first case was reported. The passengers who had travelled back into the country ever since were placed under strict surveillance, and evacuees were to be kept in quarantine for the following 14 days. At the same time, early identification of positive cases and contact tracing aptly supported by active surveillance in a few states have played a vital role in containment. As a lesson learned from other countries, the Indian government started measures like social distancing before a significant number of cases emerged in the country. On the 16th of March, govt ordered the closure of all schools in the country. GoI had shown their immaculate understanding of the benefits of nonpharmacological interventions, with the dual purpose of delaying the peak of cases and buying some time for further strengthening of the healthcare system and procurement of PPE; India started the process of lockdown on the 24 th of March. At the beginning of April month, GoI had announced significant investments of Rs.15000 crores for 'India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package'. All the above-mentioned measures had contributed to serving the prime purpose of early, emphatic containment of SARS-CoV-2 in a country like India, inhabited by 1.3 billion people. Although the surge of cases in India seems to be high, looking just at the numbers, when we infer the same result in comparison to the no of cases would have been there without the lockdown, no action at policymakers would have overwhelmed the health services severely. Hence, the lockdown in India had served the purpose for which it was imposed, thereby had prevented major humanitarian losses on account of COVID-19.

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Background: Health services delivery system varies from country to country based on the available resources and the funding in that country. Both public and private system of health delivery work with the primary focus of providing the good health services. India has a multi-payer health care model that is paid for by a combination of public and private. Himachal Pradesh (HP) also has both public and private health institution infrastructure with penetration of public infrastructure more in the rural areas. To describe the utilization pattern of COVID-19 vaccine beneficiaries in district Kangra of HP among public and private healthcare delivery points.Method: Study was done in district Kangra with all the beneficiaries included in the COVID vaccination registered in Cowin portal.Results: Amongst the total vaccination done in dist. Kangra, 99.35% of the total doses were given in the govt setting and only 0.65% were contributed by the private setupConclusions: Since decades most of the developing world has been struggling for healthcare access and with complex delivery systems. It becomes pertinent to note that Indian COVID-19 vaccination reached heights of success through technology driven approach reaching each and every corner of the country and crossing milestones to achieve set targets. It was not unreasonable to expect that the public sector may not be able to provide effective, sustained and uninterrupted healthcare including COVID vaccination services, which could be the reason that private health sector was also involved for the later. Dist. Kangra has worked to prove the efficacy of the public sector providing most of its vaccination through government CVCs.

A marvellous effort for the learners of community medicine by young authors Dr. Parimal Patel and Dr. Khushbu Makadia of the book, “Golden notes for preventive and social medicine (PSM) 2nd edition”. This is another significant publication amongst the fraternity of community medicine from the reputed publication house of Jaypee after the official release of IAPSM textbook 1st and 2nd edition.

Background: Cleanliness and hygiene in hospitals are critical to preventing infections and also provide patients and visitors with a positive experience and encourages molding behavior related to clean environment. Comprehensive sanitation and proper biomedical waste management is a critical factor in preventing iatrogenic causation of disease in addition to promoting health and cure. Hospitals of all levels of healthcare are assessed under the kayakalp programme every year.Methods: Observational cross sectional study was done in the Indira Gandhi Medical College Shimla in the month of April 2018 using kayakalp assessment checklist for tertiary care hospital.Results: Scores under various thematic areas was less than the required scores for qualifying for further peer and external assessment.Conclusions: The results compiled were appraised to the authorities of the IGMC Shimla for necessary improvements in different thematic areas of Kayakalp.