Children And The Third Wave Of Covid-19
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-08-24 03:26:40
About the Author
A committee of experts constituted by the National Institute of Disaster management has informed the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) that there is huge chance of the third wave of Covid infections hitting India soon and it is likely to peak in October. The report also warned that this time children are likely to be infected on a large scale. It has also informed that the paediatric facilities in the country to tackle a large number of infections in children are woefully short of the likely requirement and has advised upgrading of the infrastructure. It has also advised that children, with priority to those with co-morbidities and disability, must be given the jab on a war footing.
But with vaccines for children still not properly tested, it is a huge task. The government is expecting vaccines for children by September or the first week of October. But vaccine hesitancy is likely to be more in children as parents would fear jabs approved on emergency basis without proper tests. Also, many states have reopened schools and others are planning to do so in the next couple of months. Although children have suffered immensely by being cooped up at home for the last 18 months, it is extremely risky to expose them if the third wave is imminent.
With the report that more than 1.6cr people have missed their second jabs in India and the fact that the vaccine drive is not picking up due to supply constraints, there are a lot of people in India who run the risk of getting infected and starting the third wave if they remain undetected. In such a situation, especially when experts are repeatedly warning that children will be affected on a large scale, it would be wise to keep educational institutions shut for another 3 to 4 months and open them only after the festival season.
