Collect, Assess Data On Children Infected With Covid, PM Tells Officials

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged district officials collect data on children being infected with COVID-19 – a worrying possibility as the virus, which has so far not attacked the younger age groups, mutates and spreads across India and the world.

He also warned officials to guard against wasting vaccine doses; he said it is “critical” to ensure maximum use of every vial and that wasting even one dose of the vaccine – of which there is a shortage amid the devastating second wave, meant depriving a person of a degree of protection.

“Concerns have been raised for young people and children due to the mutation of the virus. I request you to collect data related to infection among youth and children in your district and review it continuously,” the Prime Minister said.

PM Modi was speaking at a virtual meeting with district magistrates from 11 states, including Maharashtra, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh – three of the five most badly affected by the second wave.

The other states represented in today’s meeting were Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Odisha, Rajasthan, Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. The Union Territory of Puducherry was also represented.

The Prime Minister’s request for district-level data about COVID-19 and children come amid growing worry that a particularly aggressive strain of the virus – B.1.617.2 – is now infecting younger sections of the society.

“There is also the issue of vaccine wastage. When vaccines are delivered to you all, we must ensure there is no wastage. You all must monitor this in both urban and rural areas. Stopping vaccine wastage is critical and you all must ensure that we don’t have any (wastage),” he said.

The Prime Minister also acknowledged the hard work of district-level officials, saying the pandemic had made their work “more demanding and challenging”. However, he cautioned them against underestimating the deadly virus and called on them to innovate new strategies and solutions.

“Coronavirus has made your work more demanding and challenging. In the midst of these new challenges, we need new strategies and solutions. It is important to use local experiences… and we need to work together as a country,” he said