The Mamata Banerjee government has initiated a series of measures, most of which would be implemented by July-end, considering that children could be more vulnerable in case the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

“Experts are saying, (and) some countries are also witnessing the vulnerability of children in the third phase of the pandemic.…We have initiated some measures to prepare ourselves to deal with the possible third wave keeping experts’ views in mind,” said the chief minister at Nabanna on Wednesday after a meeting with senior bureaucrats over preparedness for the possible third wave.

Bengal chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi spelt out the measures, which can broadly be divided in two parts.

First, the state is focusing on developing Covid infrastructure in the hospitals to provide treatment to more children.

Second, the state is urgently looking at bringing mothers of children aged up to 12 under the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

Sources in the health department said they were considering children aged below 18 as the most vulnerable section as children and teenagers up to the age of 18 years would not get Covid vaccines in near future.

Under the health infrastructure development programme, the state government has decided to develop 1,300 ICU beds for children in state-run Covid hospitals.

The state government has also decided to set up 350 sick neonatal care units (SNCU), where newborns are treated, to treat infants infected with Covid.

Additionally, the state would also dedicate 10,000 general beds of its total 30,000 Covid beds in government facilities for children and women.

“All these facilities would be in place by the end of July,” said chief secretary Dwivedi.

Health department officials have welcomed these initiatives.

“We have less than 10 percent of beds in the hospital for children. Though we can’t say for sure now that children would be predominantly infected in the third wave, we have to be ready with beds as the number of infected children could go up compared to the first two phases. These steps are in the right direction,” said a senior health department official.

Sources also said increasing ICU beds for children was also an important step as these units are totally different from the counterparts used for adult patients.

The state government has also decided to lay stress on administering vaccines to mothers of children up to age 12 years on priority basis.

“Their vaccination is required because we have to allow mothers of children into the ICU if needed (that is, if the children contract Covid and the infection is serious enough to be admitted to the ICU). We also have to protect mothers from Covid-19 so that we can, in turn, protect their children,” said a doctor at Calcutta’s SSKM hospital.

Sources in state secretariat Nabanna said that to get mothers of children vaccinated as fast as possible they would be brought under the priority group.