Mamata Banerjee on Monday said her government would work to increase Covid-19 beds for children in the state keeping in mind the possible third wave of the pandemic.

“We are trying to increase Covid-19 beds for kids as many experts said children could be affected if the third wave comes,” said the chief minister.

Sources in the health department said several experts felt that children up to the age of 18 years could be affected in larger number compared to the first and second waves as they wouldn’t be vaccinated.

“That does not mean children would be infected predominantly or exclusively in the third phase. But yes, the number of affected children could go up. So, it is important to develop infrastructure as a precautionary measure,” said a senior health department official.

Contrary to the perception of the state government that a possible third wave might affect kids in larger number compared to the first two waves, the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), which is a body representing over 32,000 paediatricians across the country, said last month that any fresh surge in the epidemic was “highly unlikely” to predominantly or severely affect children. The IAP termed as baseless fears circulating on social media of a third wave hitting children hard.

The IAP has said while children appear as susceptible as adults and the elderly to contract the novel coronavirus infection, 90 per cent of infections in children are mild or without symptoms.

A Bengal government source said the alertness of the health department stemmed from the fact there was a paucity of beds for children at hospitals in the state. The source added that aware of the shortcomings, the government wanted to augment Covid treatment-related infrastructure at healthcare establishments for children.

“A rough estimate says all hospitals have less than 10 per cent of their beds for children. This has to be increased. I hope the health department will initiate measures after the chief minister’s announcement,” said another official.

A senior doctor at SSKM Hospital in Calcutta explained why a separate facility was required to be developed for children keeping the third wave in mind.

“An ICU for children is completely different from the units where adults are treated. In the case of ICU for children, there should be facilities to accommodate parents of the children, too. I can say it is almost impossible to provide treatment to a child in ICU if the mother is not present,” said the doctor.

A member of a Covid-related committee of the state government said it should consider vaccinating mothers of children on a priority basis.

“Even if mothers of children are below 45 years of age, the state should vaccinate them considering them as a priority group. If mothers are vaccinated, she could be allowed in the ICU where the children would be admitted,” said the member.

A source said they would have to race against time to develop infrastructure for children. “According to predictions of many experts, the third wave could hit the country in the next eight-12 weeks. We have to develop required infrastructure by that time,” said the source.

A health department official said if vaccines were made available by the Centre, it would work with the Calcutta Municipal Corporation to vaccinate mothers of children at the earliest. “It has been seen that Calcutta remains the place that received the first blow in case of the previous waves. So, it is important to vaccinate mothers of children in Calcutta first,” the official added.

But the plan depends entirely on the availability of vaccines. It is expected that the state would get around 40 lakh vaccine doses in July as the Centre promised a steady supply, said an official.