Post COVID complication among children a new cause of worry for pediatricians

The syndrome involving multi-organ is usually seen weeks after the peak of COVID wave and can pose a threat to the children post infection.

PTI

May 23, 2021 / 12:42 IST

After black fungus, the Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) is the next cause of concern for the medical fraternity to deal with the post COVID complications.

The syndrome involving multi-organ is usually seen weeks after the peak of COVID wave and can pose a threat to the children post infection.

"I won't say it's (MIS-C) dangerous or life threatening but, of course, sometimes it affects children badly. It can affect organs like heart, liver and kidney in children. It happens four weeks or six weeks after they had an infection," Dr Yogesh Kumar Gupta, pediatrician in Fortis Healthcare told P T I.

Gupta said the MIS-C is an outcome of reaction in the body against the antigen developed to counter the COVID.

Follow our LIVE blog for latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show