Amid the gloomy situation over the COVID-19 crisis in the country, there were several rumors circulating about COVID, some of which caused paranoia, while several others led to complacency among the citizens. One of the rumors doing rounds is that COVID-19 does not affect children under 18 years of age. The Union government asked the country not to believe in the rumor and appealed to visit the government website with all the details of COVID-19.
COVID-19 in children
COVID in infants and children was a serious problem as the second wave COVID-19 gripped the country with a sharp increase in Coronavirus infections, and children also affected in this second wave.
In an interview with Republic Media Network, Dr Sanjeev Bagai, a senior pediatrician and chairman of the Nephron Clinic, cited studies showing that the infant population affected by COVID-19 was 2% in the first phase – 11% of the total world population, while this year in the second wave it rose to 22% – 25%.
Referring to a data analysis from the United States, dr. Bagai said the population of children affected by COVID-19 in some of the clusters is 73% of the total population in the clusters. “Children are known to carry the same viral load, but it is transmitted 17 times more within households,” said Dr. Bagai said.
He also spoke at length about the symptoms that children show when they are infected by COVID-19. Dr Bagai said that in the past the symptoms in children were coughing or breathing or fever, but children therefore show gastrointestinal symptoms, such as loose movements, vomiting, stomach pain, rash (such as rash of the vasculitis), damp and cold limbs. Some of them have even changed sensory, said dr. Bagai said while adding that 10% of children have a long-term COVID problem that flushes out three to six months after recovery.