How is Singapore variant of Covid affecting children? All we know right know…

The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is taking away the lives of a majority of the younger generations. Concerns are now rising over the third wave which may be dangerous for the children. Social media platforms are filled with reports that the Covid strain in Singapore is affecting more children and hence, the Singapore government had shut down all the schools. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the Centre to end air operations with Singapore as the new mutant from there could come as a third wave in India. However, the diplomatic missions of Singapore stated that there is no evidence that the strain was originated in Singapore. In fact, the B.1.617 strain of the virus was first detected in India.

What is the Singapore strain that has led to the shutting down of schools?

Viruses and pathogens have the tendency to mutate and seldom do they change their infectivity patterns. The recent variants which were said to be originated from UK, Brazil, and India are the same in nature. but they are more infectious than the original Covid-19 strain.

Singapore schools were shutdown recently as it reported nearly 38 cases of the virus amongst children. this was the highest-ever spike since September 2020.

It is suspected that the foreign virulent strain of the virus is B.1.167 and it has been spreading since 2020. There has not been any proof that it is a Singapore variant.

Reports have stated that the children who have been infected till now are not severely ill. few of them have mild symptoms of coronavirus. The B.1.617 variant has two mutations — E484Q and L452R and has been termed as a ‘global variant of concern’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It has already expanded to 40 countries. it has also been found to be one of the reasons for the increase of deaths due to infection in the world.

The reason that it is affecting children more

This time. there has been a spike in the cases where children have contracted the infection. These cases have been traced to the B.1.167.2 variant again. Even though there is research to be done regarding the same. experts are of the view that changes in the virus’s spike protein permit it an easier entry to the human body by attaching itself more strongly to the ACE2 receptors. However, it is still not known if this is the reason for milder symptoms in children.

Officials are concerned about the third wave because children are more exposed to outdoor activities, they have underdeveloped immune systems and there is no vaccine for children yet.

Although a number of clinical trials are being done in India and abroad, it will still take time for vaccines to be fully approved. Only a few countries have nodded to the use of vaccines on children under the age of 16.

How effective are our vaccines?

There is no specific answer to this question. There are many answers which have got approval for emergency use, but it is still unknown as to how effective it will be against virulent strains and mutants.

Despite this, scientists agree that getting vaccinated on time will certainly reduce the severity and mortality risk and make our fight against Covid-19 easier.