‘Our children not vaccinated, we are worried’

As Bengaluru sees more Covid-19 cases among children, fear of a third pandemic wave has begun to gain ground. Unlike the second wave, it is time now to take precautions. DH interacts with a cross-section of Bengalureans, apartment associations and other citizens to get their views.

Aruna Nagaraj, a resident of Cunningham Crescent Road, says: “In our apartment, all adults are vaccinated. Also we proactively make sure that our housekeeping, security and drivers in all the buildings are vaccinated. We had started with vaccinating the senior citizens.”

A mother of two, Aruna is worried about their health as the experts predict the third wave is likely to affect children in particular. “The only worry we have now is about kids, because they are not vaccinated and their vaccine is yet to come into the market. Parents are eagerly waiting for kids’ vaccines,” she notes.

She points to another problem: “It is not easy to make sure the kids are wearing masks because sometimes they play with it. As a precaution, kids have been advised to wear the mask, play in open spaces and not visit other houses.”

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Dietician Kusuma has this to say: “As the proverb goes, prevention is better than cure. Vaccination will help prevent patients from getting into a critical stage. It is the best way to prevent third wave. Also, since kids are going to be affected, paediatrics have a great role in the next phase.”

It is necessary to ensure that the immunity of doctors is boosted, she points out. “People already exposed to the virus will get antibodies, which will definitely help in attaining herd immunity.”

In the words of Amos M Jacob, a resident of Malur, “The precautionary lessons that we learnt from the first and second waves won’t be enough until and unless people protect themselves. I can see people around me not bothered about themselves and others, moving around without masks.”

“They are pushing themselves and others into danger zone. As we are in a border region, the facilities over here aren’t sufficient for survival. I feel we aren’t prepared for the third wave, due to the lack of awareness and support from the government,” says Amos.

Amrita Menon a student of Christ University says, “With the third wave approaching, people are rushing to get their vaccination done and hospitals are packed. Apartment associations and residents’ welfare associations have taken up initiatives to help one another in this fight against the pandemic.”

India, she says, began 2021 on a bright note, hoping that the infection rate would be low and push up the economic indicators to a positive zone. However, a few months later, the country was hit by the second wave. “Again, we were back to square one,” she adds.

Deploying scientific advancements to identify new mutants and mass vaccination drives have aided greatly in easing the second wave, Amrita points out. “As the third wave is approaching us in the near future, an efficient partnership between the government and civil society is critical. This is fundamental to create a covid-19 response centre that aids rapid communication regarding hospital beds, vaccines, oxygen cylinders and more.”