West Bengal: ‘Need to take steps to protect kids’ – Times of India

KOLKATA: Senior physician Sukumar Mukherjee, a member of the state government’s Global Advisory Board on Covid-19, said a worrying thing, especially in the wake of increasing Covid cases, was that section people were not turning up for the second dose and booster.
“Another concern is the public dropping all guards like wearing masks and hand-hygiene,” he added. “Such irresponsible behaviour will further push up the infection rate.”
Another concern for healthcare experts was that children below 12 years of age are not yet eligible for vaccines, even though they are going to schools. “As schools are re-opening after summer break and a section of children are not vaccinated, we have to take all precautionary measures to protect them, even though infections in them are known to be mild. Already, infections among children are on the rise,” said Dibyendu Raychaudhuri, associate professor of paediatrics, Medical College Hospital, Kolkata.
Health officials said south Kolkata areas, such as Jadavpur, Tollygunge, Kasba and Garia had more infections than pockets in the north.