Guwahati, June 08 (NKTV): “It is a piece of misinformation that subsequent waves of the Covid-19 pandemic are going to cause severe illness in children. There is no data, either from India or globally, to show that children will be seriously infected in subsequent waves” informed Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS, Delhi Dr. Randeep Guleria, during a media briefing on COVID-19, held at National Media Centre, PIB Delhi today.
Dr. Guleria cited that 60% to 70% of the children who got infected and got admitted in hospitals during the second wave in India, had either comorbidities or low immunity; healthy children recovered with mild illness without need for hospitalization.
The Director explained why waves occur in any pandemic. “Waves normally occur in pandemics caused due to respiratory viruses; the 1918 Spanish Flu, H1N1 (swine) flu are examples, said Dr. Guleria. “The second wave of 1918 Spanish Flu was the biggest, after which there was a smaller third wave” he added.
Guleria said that in order to terminate subsequent waves, the public needs to aggressively follow Covid appropriate behaviour until a significant number of our population is vaccinated or has acquired natural immunity. “When enough people are vaccinated or when we acquire natural immunity against the infection, then these waves will stop. The only way out is to strictly follow Covid appropriate behaviour” he said.
Inputs from PIB