Kolkata, 4th June 2021: While the country is yet to overcome the second wave of COVID-19, they are advised to be prepared for the third wave. As per reports the third wave is affecting the children more. Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences & Hospital (JIMSH), Budge Budge hosted a virtual press conference to share guidelines with the special curated team of doctors for COVID-19, Dr. Kaushik Hazra, MD – Assistant Professor, General Medicine, JIMSH, Dr. Kaushik Roy, Asst. Professor, Dept. of General Medicine, JIMSH, Dr. Biswaroop Mukherjee, Asst. Professor, Dept. of General Medicine, JIMSH, Dr. Sanchita Saha, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Critical Care, JIMSH. Mr. K.K. Gupta, Vice Chairman, JIMSH, was also present today to share how the hospital has prepared themselves to provide better treatment for the upcoming days as well.
The overall fatality rate in India since the beginning of the pandemic is 1.2%, while the recovery rate stands at 93.1% (as on 3rd June, 2021). The same figures for West Bengal are 1.1% and 94.5%, respectively. While the other countries that faced multiple waves, have not reported any upsurge in pediatric cases in the subsequent waves they have faced so far. Moreover, the sero-survey conducted by ICMR in December 2020-January 2021, revealed that the seropositivity rate among children and older is almost the same. Though the children will continue to remain more vulnerable to COVID-19 as the adults, it is highly unlikely that any future wave(s) will affect children predominantly. However, as children can get infected and can contribute to the transmission chain, preventive efforts should be emphasized so that they do not get infected themselves and spread the infection to others.
While addressing the Media, K.K. Gupta, Vice Chairman, JIMSH said, “Being a medical college, in house doctors from every department are working full time tirelessly to provide best treatment at this time of pandemic under one roof. We at JIMSH are working with health experts to promote facts over myths, bringing trustworthy guidance to the families and encouraging people to take precautions to prevent the spread of the deadly virus further. JIMSH has a capacity of 150 beds out of which 70 are ICU beds. Till date more than 550 Covid patients were admitted among which we have successfully treated 86% of the patients. As we are situated at the outskirts of the city 60% patients are from Kolkata City and almost close to 100 – 125 patients from other districts. The hospital has a separate vertical JIMSH home care to provide telemedicine services to those patients who are not serious in nature and can be treated in home isolation. The doctors have managed to provide guidance to more than 450 patients through telemedicine till now.”
Addressing the session, Dr. Kaushik Hazra, MD – Assistant Professor, General Medicine, JIMSH, said, “There is currently no justifiable evidence that would suggest that the third wave will affect the pediatric age group more severely. While the proportional contribution of pediatric patients has been higher in the 2nd wave compared to the 1st wave, this may be attributed to lack of immunization in the younger age group. If we talk about vaccination, none of the COVID-19 vaccines are 100% effective (or any vaccines for that matter), some risk of contracting COVID-19 remains even after getting vaccinated (the reported efficacy rates of COVISHIELD and COVAXIN are ~70% and ~80%, respectively). However, based on the published reports, vaccinations reduce the incidence of severe diseases by 95% or more. Thus, vaccines continue to play a pivotal role in preventing severe disease and mortality due to COVID-19.”