Goa: Expert panel recommends vaccination of mothers of kids below 2 yrs ahead of potential 3rd Covid wave

“Mothers that are lactating were earlier not in the recommended category of persons to be vaccinated, but now we know it is definitely a positive [thing] to vaccinate all lactating mothers because they would pass on the antibodies to the babies and also be in a position to handle the baby, if god forbid the child tends to become Covid positive later on. So this is one age group we suggest to the task force to put on priority basis,” Dr Harshad Kamat, a member of the expert committee said, reported Hindustan Times.

The expert committee of doctors set up to advise the government on the potential third wave also recommended that people with co-morbidities related to kidney, liver and diabetes should also be prioritised for vaccination within the 18-44 age group.

The doctors have made the recommendations to safeguard the children who are likely to be impacted in greater proportions in the speculated third wave of Covid-19 which could arrive in September.

The panel's recommendations are in line with several individual experts who have stressed that the potential third wave could affect the children, the Central government's principal scientific advisor K Vijay Raghavan had said that the severity of the next wave could differ in different places if adequate precautions were taken.

Dr Jagdish Cacodcar, who is also a member of the expert group, said that the numbers of children getting affected has risen, indicating that the impact on children is gradually increasing.

“We saw that last year, 7-8% children were positive and across the last three months, around 8-12% infected were children below the age of 18 years. So the percentage was going up. What was in single digits [during the first wave] has reached 11-12%. The same is the pattern all over India as those under 20 years of age comprise 12% of all confirmed Covid cases,” Dr Cacodcar said, the HT report stated.

“It's not that the 3rd wave will affect only the children, but the proportion of children [among the infected] is likely to increase,” Dr Cacodcar added.

The panel has also recommended increasing the health facilities to treat children since they are yet to be vaccinated.

The experts said the proportion of the children getting affected will depend on factors like "infectivity of the organism, schools reopening, people’s complacency and resumption of crowded gatherings", the report informed.