With children returning to school, it is feared that without being vaccinated, they will be among the most vulnerable during the third wave of Covid-19
Taking a cue from the US, health administrators in India have advised stepping up vaccination for children as well.
Record number of children have been hospitalised in the US, as the Delta variant has surged through the unvaccinated populations. In fact, several states have already started building facilities with more paediatric beds, plus oxygen.
With children returning to school, it is feared that without being vaccinated, they will be among the most vulnerable during the third wave of coronavirus infections.
During the second wave of infections in India peaked in April and May. During this time, hundreds of thousands of people died for want of oxygen and medical facilities. The current concern is regarding the third wave, which is predicted to occur during the winter months.
“We don’t know how the virus will behave, but we cannot afford to be unprepared this time around,” Suhas Prabhu, who heads the Paediatric Task Force in Maharashtra, said.
Schools in at least 11 states have opened after more than a year of closures, raising worries these could become breeding grounds for transmission of the virus
The Maharashtra government has stockpiled medicines and built facilities for additional pediatric beds and oxygen provisions in new centres in Mumbai and Aurangabad.
The Mumbai facilities have a total of 1,500 pediatric beds, most of them with oxygen.
Meantime, schools in at least 11 states have opened after more than a year of closures, raising worries these could become breeding grounds for transmission of the virus.
As of March 2021, less than 1 per cent of the country’s coronavirus deaths were in the under 15 age group. The severity of the disease in this age group has been minimal so far. Epidemiologists say there is no evidence to show that the Delta variant or any other mutations affect children more than those in other age groups.
