Karnataka govt sets up 13-member panel to tackle third Covid wave

The panel has eight paediatricians, one cardiothoracic surgeon, one cardiologist, two epidemiologists, and one oncologist

The state government on Wednesday notified a 13-member committee headed by eminent cardiologist and founder of Narayana Health Dr Devi Shetty to analyse, advise and control a possible third Covid-19 wave in Karnataka.

The panel has eight paediatricians (including one paediatric intensivist, one child psychiatrist, one paediatric pulmonologist, and one neonatologist), one cardiothoracic surgeon, one cardiologist, two epidemiologists, and one oncologist.

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Asked about the constitution of the committee despite statements from national bodies like the Indian Academy of Paediatrics that the third wave may not affect children much, one of the two public health specialists on the committee, who refused to be named, said, "Right now, there is no concrete evidence available on which group will be affected but it is good to remain prepared."

Dr Srikanta J T, paediatric pulmonologist, Aster Group of Hospitals, Bengaluru, one of the members, said, "Our aim should be primordial prevention, meaning we should see to it that the third wave does not come at all. We have to vaccinate our population to the extent possible before the third wave because we have seen in the US, UK and Israel that people are going about their normal lives without masks because they're vaccinated. We need to speed up research for paediatric vaccines and protect them as soon as possible."

Read | Shift in test strategy led to Karnataka's record surge in Covid-19 positivity rate: study

Dr Jagdish Chinnappa, paediatric consultant, Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road, another member, said Maharashtra had also constituted a similar committee led by paediatricians.

"We need to minimise the impact on children. Data coming out of countries that have had multiple waves suggest that children or younger adults are more vulnerable. We should not be caught unprepared like the second wave. There is a pyramid structure of the disease pattern in children all over the world; 10-15% will need oxygen and 1-2% will need critical care," he said.

"We need to create hubs in all district hospitals, which is capable of handling oxygenation. Further, they need to be referred to speciality hospitals. Primarily, a child with Covid in a paediatric ICU will need ventilation," he said.

The other members of the committee are Sathish Girimaji, Basavaraj G V, Ashish Sathapathy, Ajaykumar, Aravind Shenoi, Raghunath U, Yogananda Reddy, Vinod H Ratageri, Prem K Mony and P G Girish.