WAVE 2- Story of my start-up

India is the second most populous country in the world and bore the medical and economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 onward. As a developing nation, we were never truly prepared for the scale of what was coming. Despite relentless efforts from the government and healthcare system, resources and treatment facilities fell critically short as case numbers climbed at a staggering pace. The second wave, fueled by the Delta variant, hit in mid-March 2021 — arriving just after a relatively relaxed winter had lulled much of the country into a false sense of normalcy. The variant was roughly 50% more transmissible than the original strain and largely targeted the unvaccinated. With a population of 1.3 billion, India's vaccination drive — however aggressive — simply couldn't move fast enough to establish meaningful herd immunity before the wave peaked.

By the first week of April, the situation had deteriorated to the point where nearly everyone I spoke to had either been infected themselves or knew someone close who had. Panic had set in across the country. People were hoarding anything that might help — medicines with questionable efficacy, oxygen cylinders, concentrators, pulse oximeters, nebulizers, masks, sanitizers. The scramble stripped hospitals and containment centers of critical supplies at the very moment they needed them most, as wards overflowed with sick patients.

I began receiving calls and messages through social media from people who simply couldn't reach a doctor. Outpatient clinics had shut down; hospitals were consumed by ICU care. Senior colleagues openly admitted they were overwhelmed and unable to respond to the flood of requests coming in. I was deep into my USMLE Step 2 CK preparation at the time, but the thought of sick people navigating a crisis without any medical guidance — amid rampant misinformation — kept me up at night.

That's when the idea came to me: a teleconsultation service for individuals and families with symptoms who had no idea what to do next. I wanted to reach people directly and give them clear, reliable guidance on managing COVID-19 at home. A close friend quickly came on board, and together we worked out a concrete plan.

We put together a multimedia pamphlet listing my qualifications, certifications, and contact details, then pushed it across WhatsApp groups, Instagram, and Facebook — sharing it as widely as we could. Anyone who saw it could send a WhatsApp message with their name, age, and concern to our business account and received an automated acknowledgment. Within 24 hours of launching, the inbox was already filling up — mostly people who had started developing symptoms, tested positive, or were worried about someone close to them.

Having completed COVID-19 treatment and management courses through AIIMS Delhi — India's premier medical institution — along with prior certifications from WHO and NEJM, I felt equipped to help. I was still studying, and both my father and grandmother had come down with the infection, but I carved out time for consults every day regardless.

Each patient got a call — audio or video — where I walked through a structured history:

1. How did they think they were exposed? (helped surface any known contacts)

2. How were they feeling? (helped me gauge their subjective experience of symptoms)

3. Any prior illnesses or comorbidities?

4. What had they already tried?

5. What medications were they currently on?

   
   

This gave me a working picture of each patient's condition — enough to mentally triage and gauge how much time and attention they needed. Based on symptom duration and severity, I recommended investigations and guided management accordingly. In parallel, my colleague handled the administrative side: digitizing prescriptions, maintaining patient records, and scheduling follow-ups so nothing slipped through the cracks. We also counseled patients on masking, home isolation, social distancing, and preventing transmission to household contacts.

Radiology added another layer. Diagnostic labs were overwhelmed and couldn't turn around reports fast enough, so X-rays and CT chest films were sent to us electronically for direct review. Between consults, bloodwork, and imaging, I was easily putting in six hours a day — and anything complex got a second set of eyes from a senior colleague before I finalized my assessment. Emergency consults ran around the clock. Over the phone, we had to decide whether a patient could safely manage at home or needed to come in — calls that carried real weight, because hospital capacity was limited and every unnecessary visit risked further exposure and spread. Equitable allocation wasn't just a principle; it was a daily reality we had to navigate.

On May 8, 2021, India recorded a global single-day high of 414,188 confirmed cases. Over the following four weeks, we consulted more than 75 patients virtually, guiding them through active infection and post-viral recovery — with a 100% recovery rate.

I was also invited to speak at Vipul Greens Housing Society on home-based COVID care and prevention. I shared my teleconsultation experience and the patient stories that had shaped my clinical understanding of the disease, followed by an open Q&A. What struck me most was how deeply misinformed even educated members of the public were — across nearly every aspect of the pandemic.

As a physician who firmly believes prevention outweighs cure, I made a point of counseling patients on reducing future exposure, the importance of vaccination, the role of nutrition and exercise in immune health, and the need to critically evaluate what circulates on social media — because in a crisis, misinformation can be just as dangerous as the virus itself.

-Ishan Kirti MBBS (January 2022)