Third Covid Wave Likely To Be As Severe As Second With Children Being Most Vulnerable, Warns SBI report

New Delhi: With the second wave of coronavirus showing signs of slowing down in some parts of India after claiming several lives, it is now expected that the third wave could be as severe as the second and last for an average duration of 98 days, according to an SBI report.

The only silver lining is that the number of covid-related deaths can be controlled by increasing vaccinations and improvement of health infrastructure.

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The five-page report noted that the average duration of the third wave in developed countries was 98 days as against 108 days in the second wave. The SBI Ecowrap report stressed better preparedness as it can help in dealing with the third wave saying, “the decline in serious case rate (patients that require oxygen, intensive care unit beds, etc) will lead to fewer deaths.”

“We find that if serious cases decline from 20 per cent to 5 per cent (due to better health infrastructure and rigorous vaccination) in the third wave, the number of deaths in the third wave could significantly reduce to 40,000, as compared to the current deaths of more than 0.17 million,” the report said.

What did the report point towards children?

The report also went on to warn regarding children saying that they could be the next vulnerable group, and vaccination should be the key priority. “With around 150-170 million children in the 12-18 age bracket, India should go for an advanced procurement strategy like that adopted by developed nations to inoculate this age-group,” the report said.

The central government on Tuesday said the Covid-19 active cases are down by 50 percent, adding the cases have been consistently declining for one week in at least 30 states and Union Territories. Stating the “recovered cases are more than the daily cases now with the recoveries increasing to 92 per cent now, Centre further said “20 lakh tests on an average in one week”.

As per the health bulletin issued by the Union Health Ministry, the total cases recorded so far are 2,83,07,832.

 

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