Anticipated 3rd wave of Covid 19 in India- How to tackle?

The whole world is passing through an unprecedented traumatic period by the attack of an invisible, most virulent and lethal Organism

In the Indian scenario, We have experienced the unmanageable upsurge of Coronavirus infection in 2md wave. If strict measures were taken after the first wave waned, We wouldn’t have seen this humongous death toll. Experts in the scientific field and the Governments had repeatedly warned about the certainty of 3rd wave of Coronavirus affecting people of all age groups including children. They are also warning that the third wave will be more fatal in our country.

What is a wave in the infection Context?

A wave in the context of any infection is the rising and falling of the rate and trend of the infection over a longer period and it’s relation with seasons in successive years.

Many countries witnessed the trends of sudden surge and fall in the number of Covid 19 cases.

There were two distinct waves in India during the last 15 months, the first wave, comparatively milder, beginning in Feb., March 2020 and reaching a peak in September, the second, devastating wave beginning from March 2021 and reaching the peak in April, May and slowly declining from mid-May.

There is regional variation, some regions already experiencing multiple waves since the pandemic started.

How different will Covid’s 3rd wave be from the first two? Will it be more deadly?

“The biology of the virus has changed between the first and the second wave. In the third phase of the pandemic, we can expect that there will be adaptive pressure on the virus for new kinds of changes as a large number of the population will get vaccinated.” Scientists revealed.

“While in 2019 and 2020, the virus continued to be a generalist, like a key that can be fitted into many locks, the virus in 2021 became much fitter and efficient as it is trying a “hit and run lifestyle” to gain entry to the human body,” said the experts.

The emergence of new variants of a virus is natural when there is an overwhelming infectivity rate. Existing variants will make way for new variants which may or may not be more virulent.

But the pattern of the Coronavirus seems to be mysterious. “Given the high levels of circulating virus, the third wave of coronavirus is inevitable but the time scale is not clear, we can’t rule out

the possibility of a more devastating wave involving people of all ages, including children,” some experts say

However, it may involve a lesser number of people, if vaccination is done on a war footing and all the precautions to prevent the spread of the disease are followed strictly by all people. If we are not alert and guard against the virus, more mutations may occur and the presently available vaccines might not be effective completely against the new strains; but, irrespective of the virulence of the variants, it is very important for the people to stick to covid appropriate behaviour very strictly

Are the Children below 18 years at risk in Covid 3rd wave?

· It is predicted that children below 18 years and newborns will be more susceptible to the infection in the third wave as these sections of people are not yet vaccinated against the Covid 19 infection

· Many children below the age of 18 years and newborns were tested positive with Covid-19 in certain parts of India in the second wave of the disease with the highest surge in daily cases and deaths due to the virus.

· In the first wave, less than 1% of the children were infected, but in the second wave, up to 10% of the children were infected, some of them with serious consequences.

· So far, the existing mass vaccination program is not applicable for those below 18 years. Reports reveal that less than 5% of the population is vaccinated so far.

· If children get infected with the virus, it is a serious challenge for their family members and the health department.

· It is predicted that there is a risk of mucormycosis, a rare fungal infection, after contracting the coronavirus. The symptoms of mucormycosis appear two to three days after a person has recovered from Covid-19.

· Though the immunity of the children is quite strong, with many mutant viral strains emerging, all protocols related to Covid-19 should be strictly followed and take precautions to keep the children safe and healthy.

Get Prepared, fight with all your Might

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· We should be well prepared to tackle the situation and save the children during the possible third wave in the coming three to four months.

· We have to strengthen the medical infrastructure to treat a higher number of patients than the second wave-Establishing Covid wards, Special ICU beds, more Pediatric beds, more ventilators, and more no. of BIPAP machines in the Health care Centres

· Train the personnel to handle pediatric cases if at all the anticipations come true.

· As home isolation of infected children without the parents’ supervision is difficult, Vaccination of the parents should be given a priority. If they are immunized, the risk of them getting infected while handling Covid positive children will be minimal.

· More deaths were reported in the age group of 30–45 years in the second wave, compared to the first wave. Undetected co-morbidities could have been the reason for these deaths, experts said. So, people must get themselves tested to understand the various co-morbidities they have.

· Vaccination is a powerful weapon to fight against possible Covid 19 waves. So, it is crucial to speed up the vaccination program to avoid dire consequences of the third wave. Better allocation of existing supplies, allocating the limited vaccine supply in a rational and targeted way could help India save thousands of lives and help prevent a deadly third wave.

· Vaccines should be available free for all. Vaccination should be done first by prioritizing front line workers and then use age as the criterion · for sequencing vaccine jabs.

· Covid-appropriated behaviour should be followed strictly to avoid the spread of infection.

Let us face the challenge of 3rd wave of Covid 19 with better preparedness and following Covid appropriate behaviour