Why is Oxygen required all of a sudden?

Oxygen is a critical resource because Covid-19 can inflame the lungs and sometimes fill them with fluid, making it hard to breathe. Even asymptomatic people with Covid-19 can have signs of lung infections in X-rays and CT scans that may contribute to a sudden worsening of symptoms. The virus may also bind to hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen through the blood and delivers it to the body. A person’s oxygen level should be 95 to 100 percent at sea level, though patients with chronic lung problems, like emphysema, can live at an oxygen level of 88 to 92 percent. But the National Institutes of Health considers people with Covid-19 who have oxygen saturation levels less than 94 percent to have “severe illness.” Why? Lower oxygen levels force the body to work harder to supply enough oxygen to vital organs like the heart and brain. Death from Covid-19 is often from hypoxia — a form of tissue suffocation where the lungs are unable to absorb enough oxygen from the air being breathed — or respiratory failure, when the body is unable to get enough oxygen and basically exhausts itself trying. By contrast, early access to oxygen can help prevent patients from becoming critically ill.

How is Medical Oxygen made:

Medical grade oxygen refers to, as the name suggests, oxygen used by hospitals and clinics in the treatment of various illnesses that cause oxygen saturation levels in the body to drop. In this sense, it is similar to a drug. Unlike the air we breathe — which has only 21 per cent oxygen that is filtered by our lungs — medical grade oxygen is highly concentrated and can be obtained in several ways. One is by liquifying air through a process called cryogenic distillation. In this method, oxygen is produced in air separation plants where the air is cooled and the oxygen is distilled based on its boiling point. Liquified air also separates into argon and nitrogen through the same method. Oxygen can also be generated from the air itself by a machine called an oxygen concentrator. According to a note by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, an oxygen concentrator is “a self-contained, electrically powered medical device designed to concentrate oxygen from ambient air”. A third method of oxygen generation is through pressure swing absorption (PSA) plants. A PSA oxygen plant employs a technology that absorbs nitrogen from ambient air to concentrate oxygen for supply to hospitals. They operate at near-ambient temperatures and use specific adsorbent materials (that trap a substance on their surface) like zeolites, activated carbon, molecular sieves etc., to trap oxygen at high pressure. The cost of setting up a PSA plant is approximately Rs 33 lakh while the cost of an oxygen cylinder can range anywhere between Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,000. An oxygen concentrator is priced between Rs 40,000 and Rs 90,000.

Sonu Sood to the rescue!

While the nation is facing acute shortage of resources, Actor Sonu Sood is doing a wonderful job. Sonu Sood has emerged as a real-life hero for several in this pandemic struck nation. The actor has assumed the role of a saviour and has been on the forefront since the coronavirus wreaked havoc. Along with his foundation, the actor is leaving no stone unturned to help those facing the brunt of the deadly second wave. The actor has been receiving numerous SOS calls seeking medical resources from air ambulance services to oxygen cylinders and ICU beds to ventilators. In response to these requests, the actor has recently arranged the oxygen cylinders for people meddled by crises. Sonu has posted a video of a truck loaded with cartons of oxygen cylinders and captioned it “Oxygen from my side on your way.” Along with presenting truck-loads of oxygen, the actor wished India to stay strong.

Stay strong India 🇮🇳
Oxygen from my side on your way❤️@SoodFoundation pic.twitter.com/72prrjtw7v

— sonu sood (@SonuSood) May 6, 2021

Takeaway

There has been an acute shortage of various emergency supplies during this Pandemic. People are dying every day due to lack of supplies such as Remdesivir injections, Oxygen Cylinders, Hospital beds, Plasma and more. Millienials are doing a great job identifying key leads and reaching out to neccessary with the verified leads.
There are many websites that provide information about the Leads such as
https://dantusaikamal.github.io/COVID-Emergency-Supplies/
If you are aware of verified leads of
Oxygen cylinders
Remdesivir injections
Plasma
Hospital beds,
please fill this google sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1t0N4hdW02VfCLW9FlFU2O85sA3_cA6TzBx2hyoZJQ-E/edit?usp=sharing