CHANDIGARH: While the predictions of a third Covid-19 wave in October worry most parents, the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) claims that the fear of children’s being at maximum risk is irrational.
IAP national chairman Dr Piyush Gupta said: "The forecast that the third wave will hit children the hardest has no scientific evidence but it has done one good thing. It has upgraded all the paediatric facilities in the country. We had been seeking new intensive care unit (ICU) equipment for years but it’s the fear of a third wave that got us heard at last. This was a blessing in disguise, but the disadvantage was that it increased the children’s level of anxiety."
In both waves of Covid-19, so far, the cases among children were almost equal. PGI paediatrician Dr Arun Bansal said: "As the numbers surged during the second wave, it increased proportionally in the children but the comparative numbers remained the same. If a third wave comes, which cannot be predicted as the forecasts have failed often, all will be affected equally."
However, the collateral damage in children has been the loss of cognitive and mental skills due to the pandemic, gong by what the paediatricians have observed. Discussing the impact of the flu during the ongoing north zone conference Pedicon-2021, Dr Bansal said: "We have seen in various studies that the overall body-mass index (BMI) of Indian children soared from 17.3% to 17.8% during the lockdown because their screen time increased, which will have a long-term side effect on their vision and hearing as well."
Allaying the apprehension that children will the worst sufferers of the new wave because they haven’t been vaccinated, Dr Bansal said: "In the city, 70% of the children have developed antibodies against the virus. As they were not vaccinated and 90% of them were asymptomatic, it is evident that they do not develop severe Covid."
Tricity Covid count 5, death in Mohali
Chandigarh on Sunday reported one case of Covid-19 and 4 recoveries. The overall tall of 65,210 includes 64,350 recoveries, 41 active cases, and 819 deaths. Mohali lost a patient to Covid-19 on Sunday and reported three new cases, while seven people recovered.
The district's active case count declied to 28 from 36 and the recovery rate improved slightly to 98.41%. Two of the new cases were from Mohali urban and one from Dhakoli. The district's overall tally of 68,717 includes 67,625 recoveries, 28 active cases, and 1,064 deaths.
Panchkula on Sunday reported one fresh case of Covid-19 and no death. The overall tally of 30,730 includes 30,333 recoveries, 20 active cases, and 377 deaths. The district laboratories collected 4,32,100 samples for testing.
