JIMSH shares recovery rate on Covid-19 2nd wave

Kolkata: Even as the country is grappling with the second Covid-19 wave, people are being advised get prepared for the third wave. As per re...

Kolkata: Even as the country is grappling with the second Covid-19 wave, people are being advised get prepared for the third wave. As per reports the third wave is affecting children more. Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences & Hospital (JIMSH), Budge Budge hosted a virtual press conference on June 4 to share guidelines with the special curated team of doctors for Covid-19, Dr. Kaushik Hazra, MD - Assistant Professor, General Medicine, JIMSH, Dr. Kaushik Roy, Asst. Professor, Dept. of General Medicine, JIMSH, Dr. Biswaroop Mukherjee, Asst. Professor, Dept. of General Medicine, JIMSH, Dr. Sanchita Saha, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Critical Care, JIMSH. K.K. Gupta, Vice Chairman, JIMSH, was also present to share how the hospital has prepared themselves to provide better treatment for the coming days as well.

The overall fatality rate in India since the beginning of the pandemic is 1.2%, while the recovery rate as on June 3 stands at 93.1%. The same figures for West Bengal are 1.1% and 94.5%, respectively. Pther countries that faced multiple waves, have not reported any upsurge in paediatric cases in the subsequent waves they have faced so far. Moreover, the sero-survey conducted by ICMR in December 2020-January 2021, revealed that the seropositivity rate among children and older people is almost the same. Though children will continue to remain more vulnerable to Covid-19 as the adults, it is highly unlikely that any future wave(s) will affect children predominantly. However, as children can get infected and can contribute to the transmission chain, preventive efforts should be emphasized so that they don’t get infected themselves and spread the infection to others.

While addressing the media, K.K. Gupta said, “Being a medical college, in house doctors from every department are working full time tirelessly to provide best treatment at this time of pandemic under one roof. We at JIMSH are working with health experts to promote facts over myths, bringing trustworthy guidance to the families and encouraging people to take precautions to prevent the spread of the deadly virus further. JIMSH has a capacity of 150 beds out of which 70 are ICU beds. Till date more than 550 Covid patients were admitted of which 86% we have successfully. As we are situated at the outskirts of the city 60% patients are from Kolkata City and almost close to 100 – 125 patients from other districts. The hospital has a separate vertical home care to provide telemedicine services to those patients who are not serious in nature and can be treated in home isolation. The doctors have managed to provide guidance to more than 450 patients through telemedicine till now.”

Addressing the session, Dr. Kaushik Hazra, said, “There is currently no justifiable evidence that would suggest that the third wave will affect the paediatric age group more severely. While the proportional contribution of paediatric patients has been higher in the 2^nd wave compared to the 1^st wave, this may be attributed to lack of immunization in the younger age group. None of the Covid-19 vaccines are 100% effective (or any vaccines for that matter), some risk of contracting Covid-19 remains even after getting vaccinated (the reported efficacy rates of Covishield and Covaxin are 70% and ~80%, respectively). However, based on published reports, vaccinations reduce the incidence of severe diseases by 95% or more. Thus, vaccines continue to play a pivotal role in preventing severe disease and mortality due to Covid-19.”