When the first Covid case in the world was initially reported in China in late 2019, no medical experts on the planet foresaw that this invisible enemy could emerge as a pandemic wreaking havoc in all nooks of the globe. India is now the hotbed of coronavirus infections, and over the past two months, the country has been battling the second wave of the pandemic that is deadlier and lethal than the first one.
Mortalities associated with Covid were primarily confined to aged people in the first wave, but in the second wave, the mutated virus started attacking healthy young individuals as well. And now, the scare is looming up as experts have predicted the possibility of a third wave of Covid, and many people believe that a future potential outbreak could affect children.
The vaccination dilemma
Even though the Indian government had assured vaccination for people aged between 18 to 45 from May 01, the vaccine rollout is not progressing steadily in several states. It is still unclear how the government is planning to give vaccines to people below the age of 18.
As the apprehension surrounding a third wave affecting children, states all across the nation are busy ramping up pediatric beds to combat a possible outbreak of Covid in the coming months. It should be noted that the healthcare infrastructure in most of the Indian states is shattered due to the deadly second wave of Covid, and several states have faced severe oxygen shortages during the April peak.
To prevent potential chaos, the Uttar Pradesh government recently announced that priority vaccination will be given to parents of children below the age of 12. Goa is also planning to vaccinate lactating mothers. Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala were the worst affected states due to the Covid wave, and governments in these respective regions will be ramping up the availability of including pediatric intensive care units (PICU), neonatal intensive care units (NICU), and sick newborn care units (SNCU).
States like Jharkhand are also preparing for a possible third wave of virus which could turn deadly for children. It should be noted that 43 percent of Jharkhand's population is in the below-18 category. Recently, authorities in Jharkhand had sought advice from experts in Delhi and Bengaluru to prevent potential chaos that could arise due to the third wave of Covid.
The inevitable third wave of coronavirus
It was Principal Scientific Advisor to the PM Dr. KV Vijay Raghavan who initially warned about a possible third wave of coronavirus. He also admitted that the medical sector in the country did not expect such ferocity from Covid second-wave outbreak.
"Phase 3 is inevitable given the high levels of circulating virus. But it is not clear on what timescale this Phase 3 will occur. Hopefully, incrementally, but we should prepare for new waves. New variants will arise all over the world and in India too but variants that increase transmission will likely plateau," said Vijay Raghavan.
