Third wave more dangerous for children? Experts say no evidence
There is no scientific data available so far to prove that the coronavirus will infect children more severely in the future waves of COVID-19, Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director at AIIMS, Delhi, said on Tuesday. It is being widely believed that a possible third wave of the pandemic in India would be more dangerous for the children. Here are more details on this.
"There is no data - either from India or globally - to show that children will be seriously infected in subsequent waves," Dr. Guleria said. He informed that 60-70% of children, who had to be hospitalized after contracting the infection, either had comorbidities or low immunity. Healthy children, on the other hand, mostly suffered mild illness and recovered without the need for hospitalization.
Recently, Dr. VK Paul, a top member of the Indian government's COVID-19 management team, had also made a similar suggestion. "It is uncertain that a wave would affect children specifically. Till now, children have displayed similar seroprevalence as adults, which means, they are as much affected as adults," Dr. Paul said, according to India Today TV.
Dr. Paul also asserted that vaccinated adults can protect children from the infection. "If adults get vaccinated, then it would be difficult for the virus to reach the children." Earlier, the Indian Academy of Paediatrics had stated that it was "highly unlikely" that a third wave of the virus would predominantly or exclusively affect the younger population.
India faced a more infectious and deadlier second wave of the coronavirus earlier this year. Experts have warned that a third wave of the pandemic could hit India in a span of less than eight months, while some said that would affect children more than adults. Another concern is that India does not have any approved coronavirus vaccine for children as yet.
After facing the world's worst coronavirus outbreak, India's COVID-19 situation is finally improving. In the past 24 hours, the country added 92,596 cases to its tally and reported 2,219 deaths. It marked the second consecutive day that daily cases remained under one lakh, after a period of over two months. However, just above 3% of the Indian population has been fully vaccinated as yet.
