Second wave saw at least four Covid-19 deaths in 0-9 age group in Mumbai: Hospitals

The city has recorded at least four deaths in the 0-9 age group due to Covid-19 this year

The city has recorded at least four deaths in the 0-9 age group due to Covid-19 this year. Civic-run BYL Nair Hospital recorded three infant deaths, while SRCC Children’s Hospital recorded one death. Covid pneumonia, wherein the infection inflames the lungs, has been seen as the most common cause of death.

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However, these deaths are yet to reflect in the official data of the civic body.

According to the age-wise mortality numbers obtained by Hindustan Times, the civic body has recorded zero deaths in the 0-9 age group between January to July 15 this year. “We did see deaths in the 0-9 age group during the first wave, but we have not recorded any deaths this year so far,” said additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani. “It could be that the review of deaths recorded by these hospitals revealed that the cause was not Covid-19,” he said.

The civic body has recorded as many as 13,185 cases in the 0-9 age group since March 2020. Last year, there were 18 deaths in this age group, as per the civic body data.

According to Dr Soonu Udani, medical director of SRCC Children’s Hospital, they recorded the death of an 18-day-old baby in May this year. “The baby had severe pneumonia. As per protocol, we have mentioned the cause of death as Çovid-19 pneumonia on the death certificate too,” said Udani, adding that the facility has recorded only one other death in the paediatric age group, that of a 15-year-old who had multiple comorbid conditions including obesity.

She said that the number of paediatric patients went up during the peak in April. But cases have now reduced drastically.

BYL Nair Hospital’s paediatric head Dr Sushma Malik said that at least one of the three infants who succumbed this year had developed the multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a serious complication of Covid-19 that affects organs and systems in the body. The hospital has also seen death of an 11-year-old child. “While any mortality is a concern, we have not seen a severe impact of Covid-19 on children,” said Malik.

Some experts predict that the anticipated third wave may affect children badly, as they will be vulnerable without vaccine. However, there is another section of experts who believe that the third wave may not severely impact children.

The civic body has started preparations to manage the anticipated paediatric surge by equipping jumbo hospitals with paediatric beds and intensive care units. A state-level task force has also been formed to steer the actions required to manage the under-18 population.

Talks of rolling out vaccination for children between 12 to 18 years are also on at the centre. Clinical trials are underway with at least two vaccines for children.