India
Coronavirus causes less severe illness in children than adults: Govt in Lok Sabha
Coronavirus infection in children and adolescents usually causes less severe illness than in adults, according to the WHO, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Friday. Omicron and its sub-lineage have been found in 7,362 samples, while Delta and its sub-lineage was found in children aged 0–18 years in 118 samples analyzed by INSACOG from January 1, 2022, to July 25, 2022, central Bharti Praveen Pawar, Minister of State for Health said in a written reply. Pawar was replying to a question about whether children in the country are getting affected by the coronavirus infection and what is the current status of vaccination for children of 12-18 years and 5-12 years. "According to the World Health Organisation, SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents usually cause less severe illness than adults," Pawar said. Till July 26 this year, 9.96 crore first doses (82.2 percent coverage) and 7.79 crore second doses (64.3 percent coverage) have been administered to children between 12-18 years. She said that as the country has not started immunization below 12 years of age under the National COVID-19 Immunization Programme, all the States and Union Territories have been provided with sufficient vaccine doses to vaccinate all eligible children.
