There is no substantive evidence to suggest that children will be more affected in the third wave of coronavirus infections: Report

There seems to be no real thing evidence Suggest it Children Will be affected or the severity of the disease will increase. COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection) is expected Third wave, According to a new report. The Lancet COVID-19 Committee India Task Force produced a report after convening a group of experts consisting of leading pediatricians in the country to investigate the issue of “Pediatric COVID-19” in India. ..

Symptomatology of infectious diseases in children in India seems to be similar worldwide.

“Most children infected with COVID-19 are asymptomatic and mild infections with those symptoms predominate. Most children have fever with respiratory symptoms and gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea, diarrhea, Often presents with atypical symptoms compared to adults (such as vomiting, abdominal pain, etc.) and asymptomatic as the severity of such age groups increases in the proportion of children with symptoms as they get older. ”

Approximately 2,600 people under the age of 10 from 10 hospitals (both public and private) were admitted due to the lack of a national database of clinical symptoms and outcomes of the two rapidly increasing infected children noted so far. Children (excluding newborns)), Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi-NCR area collected and analyzed.

According to the data, the mortality rate of hospitalized COVID-19-positive children under the age of 10 surveyed was 2.4%, and about 40% of the dead children had comorbidity.

Lancet’s document states, “9% of all COVID-19-positive children admitted showed serious illness under the age of 10. During the two COVID-19 outbreaks that India experienced, above. The observations were similar, “says Lancet’s document.

Three AIIMS physicians, Sheffali Gulati, Sushil K Kabra and Rakesh Lodha, contributed to this study.

Kabra said less than 5% of children need hospitalization for COVID-19 and have a mortality rate of 2%.

“Of 100,000, 500 children were hospitalized, of which 2% were reported to have died, which means that one or two of 100,000 had died. For children, the disease is less serious. It is very low. Death rates are also caused by underlying diseases in the form of comorbidities such as diabetes, cancer, anemia, and severe malnutrition. Normal children In this case, the mortality rate is very rare, “he said.

The data was also evaluated separately for the two spikes, from March 2020 to December 2020 and from January 2021 to April 2021.

A multicenter study of 402 children admitted to Indian hospitals recorded similar observations, 90% of which were asymptomatic to mildly symptomatic, and 44 in 318. % Had an underlying illness.

“Based on available data, there seems to be no substantive evidence to suggest that the expected third wave of COVID-19 infection will affect children more or become more seriously ill. Prognosis. And has a lower mortality rate than adults. ”

According to the report, for pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), risk factors for this condition include obesity, asthma, respiratory disabilities, developmental disabilities, heart disease, cancer or immunodeficiency in children, and surgery. Includes those who have received.

The numbers show that acute COVID-19 mortality in teens and older is low, but obese people appear to have high mortality. Most published data suggest a mild to moderate predisposition and low MIS-C-related mortality rates in most cases.

“Preliminary reviews of typical institutional cases further support the low severity of child cases and low overall mortality. However, the health system has adequate infrastructure, primary It is necessary to handle the load of pediatric cases with designated facilities at the secondary and tertiary levels. Care, oxygen supply, proper equipment, trained personnel, drugs, injections, etc. are all child-specific. That’s what the report says.

Like the adult protocol, national-level clinical protocols must be adhered to at all levels of the institution and at all well-trained providers.

“Health care systems need to maintain routine programs such as vaccination and nutrition and identify high-risk patients in advance for better management. Vaccines are for adults and ultimately for children. It forms an important part of the preventive strategy for, which must be evaluated and implemented promptly.

“To alleviate panic and anxiety, behavioral change communication and media management should be prioritized. Schools should be reopened directly and cautiously, with online access options as needed. With a firm determination to restore children’s lives to normal as soon as possible, “the report was added.