With experts pointing to the eventuality of a third wave of the pandemic, people are taking to social media platforms to organise campaigns for parallel inoculation of kids

Considering the massive second wave of the coronavirus that did not spare the younger generation, vaccination seems to be the only way to stop the third wave from hitting the country. Now, in a bid to ensure that children are not left out of the vaccination drive, citizens are taking to social media platforms to push for the expansion of the vaccination drive and allowing all available vaccines in the country. One such push can be seen in the form of a tweetathon requesting the government to allow parallel vaccination for kids before a third wave of the virus hits the country. 

The magnitude of the devastation the virus has wrecked in the past weeks has been witnessed across the country. Lack of healthcare infrastructure, medical supplies and long waits at crematoriums were scenes that played out in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. Reports of lack of beds in hospitals and other essential supplies for medicare were seen coming in areas of the country, leaving people to take to social media to organise help and support each other.

And although major Indian states have now started seeing a slump in the daily number of reported cases and  experts are pointing towards a declining second wave, there is another reason to worry — the inevitable third wave.

Health experts recently warned that a third wave is inevitable in India, although a timeline has not been mapped out yet, some reports suggest that it will likely hit in September. AIIMS Director, Dr Randeep Guleria pointed out that any epidemic usually makes its impact in three waves out of which it is believed that the second wave proves to be the most dangerous one. 

But the worst is not yet over. Health experts have pointed out that children and newborns are at a higher risk in Covid’s third wave. In a report by India Today, paediatrician Dr Kamal Kishore was quoted as saying, “The third wave is just a few months away and children are at risk. This is because the children go out to play. Though there is little evidence of fatality risk among children, they can be diagnosed with mucormycosis fungal infection after contracting the virus.”

At a time when India was fighting the second wave, Indians were also struggling to get vaccinated. Phase 3 of the vaccination drive, which started on 1 May 2021, opened its door to all the adults, but people were not able to get the shot due to the unavailability of slots. Since younger people were more prone to the second wave, many succumbing to the deadly virus, vaccination is the only way to keep the population safe.

Considering the risk on children and the shortage of vaccine, netizens are urging the government to arrange for the Pfizer vaccine using #PfizerForIndianKids which urges that the Pfizer vaccine should be given to children between 12-17 years. Pfizer has a high efficacy however it is yet to be allowed in the India.

The tweetathon requests the government to start a parallel vaccination drive for the kids and save them from the third wave. One such campaign is being bein undertaken via a WhatsApp group, pfizerforindiankids, that will help enable people to co-ordinate and make their voices heard.  The group aims to launch a tweetathon on Thursday 13 May to highlight the need for parallel vaccinations for kids in the country.