NEW DELHI: The central government on Monday said there is no indication that children will be severely or more affected in the third wave of Covid-19.Responding to a question on the possible impact of the third wave on children, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria at a press conference said there is so far no evidence that there will be severe infection in children or there will be more cases in them in the upcoming wave of Covid-19. "Data from the first and the second wave shows that children are usually protected from Covid and even if they get it, they have mild infection," he said.He, however, said children have suffered collateral damage during the pandemic due to gender gap in education, stress and mental issues, smartphone dependence/addiction, and interrupted educational opportunities.Schooling of the children in rural areas has also been affected. "If we see the data of the first and second waves, it is very similar and it shows that children are usually protected and even if they get it, they only have mild infection. And the virus hasn't changed so there is no indication that children will be more affected in the third wave," he said.And there is this hypothesis that the virus enters through ACE receptors in the body and these receptors are relatively less in children as compared to adults.This is a hypothesis on why the infection has been less amongst children, he said. "Those who floated this theory said that children have so far not been affected, so perhaps they will be most affected in the third wave.

Source: Economic Times May 25, 2021 01:27 UTC