Why do Covid-19 patients need oxygen, how to get it: An expert explains

Low and middle income countries face huge hurdles in getting oxygen to patients, says Trevor Duke.

New waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in countries, such as Kenya and India, have exposed the poor management of oxygen supplies. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Professor Trevor Duke, an expert on [oxygen provision] and editor of the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on oxygen therapy for children, to provide insights into what countries, with limited resources, can do to secure better supplies.

Why is oxygen so important for treating COVID-19?

The SARS CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19 pneumonia and hypoxaemia. Hypoxaemia is a lack of