PUNE During an online meeting organised by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Pune chapter on Sunday, the district task force head Dr Dileep Kadam suggested that the Covid-19 vaccination of parents whose children are aged 10 years and below, should be prioritised.
He said that since the isolation of younger children might require parents to stay with them, the parents also have to be vaccinated. He also stated that in addition to Covid-19 care facilities for children, post infection facilities also need to be set up.
Addressing the IMA meet, Dr Kadam, who heads Pune’s Covid-19 task force said, “The challenges in the third wave would be isolation of the infected children who are dependent on their parents, especially those children aged below 6-7 years. In view of this vaccination of parents must be prioritised. Multiple hospitals are being set up by PMC and other agencies, but more have to be set up. The necessary approved medicines have to be stocked, as the use of Remdesivir in children is still under trial. Most importantly, routine immunisation programmes have to be continued, especially the influenza vaccine, because the symptoms of both influenza and Covid are very similar.”
He added, “In the third wave, the presentation of symptoms among the age group of 18-45 years is likely to remain the same, which is in the lungs and respiratory system. While in the age group of 18-12 years, we would see most patients show both, Covid-19 and post Covid-19 symptoms. The most number of post Covid symptoms would be among the age group of 0-12 years, wherein the most important symptom would be swelling of the heart. So we have to be prepared for Covid as well as post-Covid symptoms. Multiple system inflammatory syndrome (MSIS) which is now reported commonly in children would be more impactful in the third wave and for that we have to keep the intravenous immunoglobulin treatment ready.”
{{/usCountry}}He added, “In the third wave, the presentation of symptoms among the age group of 18-45 years is likely to remain the same, which is in the lungs and respiratory system. While in the age group of 18-12 years, we would see most patients show both, Covid-19 and post Covid-19 symptoms. The most number of post Covid symptoms would be among the age group of 0-12 years, wherein the most important symptom would be swelling of the heart. So we have to be prepared for Covid as well as post-Covid symptoms. Multiple system inflammatory syndrome (MSIS) which is now reported commonly in children would be more impactful in the third wave and for that we have to keep the intravenous immunoglobulin treatment ready.”
{{/usCountry}}He said, “The third wave is likely to come mid-August to October. There are multiple contributing factors, one of which is the weather. During this period the minimum temperature is 10 degree Celsius, while maximum is more than double the minimum. Also, the reason why Pune is being most affected could be because of its location and overall climate. Pune is also surrounded by mountains and so winds entering the district do not leave easily. Pune is also an education hub and the movement of people from city to rural areas is very rampant, more than any other city. Even during swine flu we saw that Pune was most affected.”
In addition to Dr Kadam, other speakers included Dr Bharat Purandare, infectious disease specialist, Dr Kailas Sant, ENT specialist, and Dr Sanjay Patil, past president, IMA Pune.
Murlidhar Mohol, mayor of Pune city was the chief guest and Ravindra Shisve, joint police commissioner, was the guest of honour.