Why younger people getting affected with new COVID-19 strain? ICMR chief explains

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COVID-19 strain effect on young people (Image: Pixabay)
COVID-19 strain effect on young people (Image: Pixabay)

Mumbai : When being asked by younger people are getting infected more in the second wave of coronavirus in India, ICMR Chief Dr Balram Bhargava explained that there were primarily two reasons behind it.

"We have found that younger people are getting slightly more involved because suddenly they have gone out and there are variants also prevalent in the nation which may be affecting the younger people as well," he said during the press briefing on Wednesday.

He was also asked if the government is taking any steps towards vaccinating kids, who are the likely target of coronavirus third wave. Dr Bhargava said there is not much difference in age between the first and the second wave. "We have been analysing the date since August. People above the age of 45 years are more vulnerable to any adverse outcome and the hospitalised mortality is around 9.6 to 9.7 per cent," he said.

According to the data available with the Centre, in April, in the first wave 31 per cent of people affected were under the age of 30 years while in 2021, the percentage rose to 32.

The government's principal scientific advisor K Vijay Raghavan recently claimed that the third wave in India can be averted with strict measures but some other experts have said that it is inevitable. In fact, Maharashtra has already started its preparation for the third wave as it started setting up paediatric care centres in the state.