COVID-19 pandemic: ‘US to start vaccinating children of three years and above by October’

KARACHI: The COVID-19 vaccination for children of three years of age and above in the United States is likely to commence by October this year and it is hoped that authorities in Pakistan would also follow suit and start vaccinating children by December. Children and adolescents are most affected by the fourth wave of the viral pandemic, a leading US health expert has said.

The “US authorities are planning to start vaccinating children of three years and above against COVID-19 by October this year and, hopefully, authorities in Pakistan will follow suit and start vaccinating children by December. Children are most affected in the 4th wave of the pandemic and they need protection,” Dr Asim Shah, Executive Vice Chair at Menninger Dept of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, US, said while addressing a ceremony organized by the Children’s Hospital, Karachi, to recognize the services of eminent psychiatrist and former head of Department of Psychiatry Prof. Dr. Iqbal Afridi, who has recently been appointed as adjunct professor by the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. Several other leading healthcare professionals and experts were also awarded shields for their services to the suffering humanity.

Dr. Afzal Javed, President World Psychiatric Society, Executive Director JPMC Dr. Seemin Jamali, Prof. Tasneem Ahsan, acting ED JPMC, Prof. Tariq Mahmood, Senator Karim Khwaja, Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, Health Department’s focal person Dr. Sikandar Memon, Additional Secretry Aijaz Khanzada, cricketer Tauseef Ahmed, Shoaib Muhammad and dozens of other healthcare professionals paid glowing tributes to Prof. Iqbal Afridi for his services.

The US-based Pakistani psychiatrist, Dr. Asim Shah, said children were not only being affected due to COVID-19 in the current wave but were also undergoing mental health issues, especially social isolation due to closure of educational institutions and inability to socialize with their folks at recreational places due to Covid 19 related restrictions.

In his keynote address on impact of COVID-19 on mental health of children, Dr Asim Shah maintained that social isolation could be one of the causes of suicides among children and adolescents, adding that suicide is the second leading cause of death among children and adolescents between 10-24 years of age. “Significantly higher rate of suicide ideation and suicide attempts among children was recorded in the United States during the pandemic. Against this backdrop, it is recommended that parents should keep an eye on warning signs of suicide in their children which includes social isolation, feeling hopeless as well as talking and writing about suicide among others,” Prof. Shah said. Urging parents and people to improvise to deal with the mental health implications of COVID-19, he said the viral infection was going to stay and would not go away at least for a couple of more years. On the occasion, he paid rich tributes to Prof. Iqbal Afridi, saying he was the only Pakistani academician and healthcare professional to be appointed as an adjunct professor by a prestigious American college while living in his own country.

Thanking the Children’s Hospital, Karachi, and the healthcare fraternity for honouring his services, renowned psychiatrist and former President of Pakistan Psychiatric Society (PPS) Prof. Iqbal Afridi deplored that services of healthcare professionals were largely ignored in Pakistan despite the fact that many of them sacrificed their lives while serving the ailing humanity. “I dedicate this evening to all those healthcare workers who embraced martyrdom and those who served selflessly in the pandemic,” he said.