Keypoints:
- People suffering from comorbidities related to kidney, liver and diabetes are also on priority for vaccination in the 18-44 age group.
- Goa should prioritise vaccination for lactating mothers who have children below two years of age in order to protect both mother and child against the 3rd wave of Covid.
- The expert group has also recommended to increase the number of facilities to treat children as they are yet to be vaccinated against Covid.
- It has been anticipated by the experts group that the speculated third wave could arrive around September and impact a greater proportion of children.
An expert committee has recommended to the government that Goa should prioritise vaccination for lactating mothers who have children below two years of age in the 18-44 group in order to protect the mother and child from the potential third wave of Covid-19.
Dr. Harshad Kamat, who is a member of the expert committee has said that, “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.”
Keeping in check the possibility of Covid third wave, the expert committee of doctors belonging from the government sector and the private sector have set up to advise the government on the third wave. They have also recommended that people suffering from comorbidities related to kidney, liver and diabetes are also on priority for vaccination in the 18-44 age group.
Dr. Jagdish Cacodcar who is also a member from the task force has said that, “We have requested the DHS that two groups should be given priority for vaccination within the 18-44 age groups: Lactating mothers (whose children are less than 2 years old) and those who have diabetes or renal failure or liver problems within the 18-44 age groups since they can develop severe symptoms.”
“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 added.
“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.
“By what proportion will Covid-19 cases among the children rise is dependent on infectivity of the organism, schools reopening, people’s complacency and resumption of crowded gatherings,” Dr Cacodcar said.
