No Data to Show Children will Be Seriously Infected in Subsequent COVID-19 Waves: AIIMS Director

New Delhi: There is no data to show that children will be seriously infected in subsequent COVID-19 waves, said Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, Dr. Randeep Guleria on Tuesday.

“It is a piece of misinformation that subsequent waves of the COVID-19 pandemic are going to cause severe illness in children. There is no data – either from India or globally – to show that children will be seriously infected in subsequent waves,” Guleria said during a press briefing.

Dr. Guleria cited that 60% to 70% of the children who got infected and got admitted in hospitals during the second wave in India, had either comorbidities or low immunity; healthy children recovered with mild illness without need for hospitalization.
COVID appropriate behaviour is the key to preventing future waves, he added.