‘Omicron does affect children, but it is a mild disease,’ says AIIMS expert
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Experts said while the Omicron infection rate and other data are still being processed by the scientific community, it’s a fact that the absence of risk factors and comorbidities in kids helps them to bounce back quicker.
India is seeing a massive spike in COVID-19 cases driven by the heavily-mutated Omicron variant of the SARS CoV-2 despite fast-paced vaccination in the country. This year, at least two vaccines were approved for children, who had remained unvaccinated in the last two waves of the pandemic.
Teens between the ages of 15-years 18 are eligible to be vaccinated in India.
But the question often being asked is about the effect of COVID-19, and especially of the Omicron variant, on children.
Also read: India rolls out COVID vaccine for kids aged 15-17 years, ‘precaution doses’: All you need to know
Experts said children can get infected with the Omicron variant, but the infection rate and other data are still being compiled and processed by doctors, researchers and scientists.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) recently organised an interactive webinar session on ‘Managing Children with COVID-19’ in partnership with the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi.
Also read: Covaxin for Kids: Bharat Biotech gets DGCI nod for emergency use in children aged 12 to 18 years
“It is important for us to understand that children are not like adults and we cannot translate what we are doing in adults to children. They need to be treated separately and that is why this webinar that we are having today is very, very important,” said AIIMS, New Delhi, Director Dr Randeep Guleria.
“Omicron does affect the children but it is a mild disease. We also need to keep in min the fear and the panic which is getting created among the families, we must be able to curtail it,” said Dr Ashok Deorari, AIIMS, Delhi.
Also read: Omicron upends return to US schools and workplaces
The doctors also explained the mechanism behind children suffering from less severe symptoms than adults.
“They respond to the virus in a better way. In addition, if the lung gets involved, then the excellent regeneration capacity of the paediatric alveolar epithelium would help in a more rapid and more complete recovery. And the absence of risk factors like various comorbidities that we see in adults and elderly like smoking and diabetes are obviously less seen in children,” explained Dr Deorari.
Also read: Omicron not mild for those at high health risk, says Virologists Dr SK Sarin
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