Covid vaccine for kids not needed to reopen schools: PGI paediatricians

Paediatricians from PGIMER said that as per a sero-survey, 72.7% children in Chandigarh, aged six to 18, had natural antibodies against Covid

Citing the low severity of virus cases reported among children, paediatricians from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on Saturday said authorities need not wait for a vaccine to be rolled out for those under the age of 18 before reopening schools.

Paediatricians from PGIMER said that due to closure of schools amid the pandemic, children have been acquiring health problems, psychological and physical, while sitting at home. (HT file)

The paediatricians were speaking at a North Zone Pedicon event on Saturday, which was organised by the Chandigarh Association of Paediatricians, in which around 300 delegates participated.

PGIMER paediatrician Dr Arun Bhansal said, “The PGIMER had conducted a sero survey for the paediatric population in August, in which it was found that 72.7% of the children, aged six to 18, had acquired natural antibodies against Covid. Despite the spread of the virus among the paediatric population, only a few cases of severe infection were reported in the UT and over 95% children were asymptomatic.”

“Besides, children are going to malls, markets and parks, where they can be exposed to the virus, so there is no point in closing the schools where children can actually learn and grow. Due to closure of schools children have been acquiring health problems, psychological and physical, while sitting at home,” he said.

“This is the right time for reopening schools as most of adults in our country are vaccinated. Instead of waiting for vaccines, the school management should vaccinate staff”, Dr Bhansal added.

The paediatricians also said that PGIMER had recorded multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a post-Covid complication. So far,100 such complications have been reported at PGIMER.

The UT education department has reopened classes for students in a phased manner. In July, offline classes had started for students in Class 9 or higher, after which school was opened for Classes 7 and 8 in August, and students of Classes 5 and 6 also resumed classes from September 2.

The summative assessment exams for Classes 5 to 8, which will be held between October 4 and October 20, will also be held physically with only genuine exceptions. The attendance has also increased from 10-15% to 50% in some government schools.