Third wave of Covid-19 may or may not affect kids, say experts, as there has been no scientific evidence to prove that the third wave can have a detrimental effect on children.
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‘There is fear and uncertainty associated with Covid-19, anxiety, and distress caused by lockdowns and social distancing, limited access to mental health services and this is all due to the misinformation and disinformation surfacing around.’
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"The combination of misinformation and disinformation, which is called infodemic, has been happening since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the recent example of misinformation is that - the third wave of covid will impact children - this is complete misinformation as there is no scientific basis behind it," IPHA President and Professor, Department of Community Medicine, AIIMS, Sanjay Kumar Rai, said at the Infodemic Pandemic eSummit - HEAL-Thy Samvaad Episode-19, organized by HEAL Health. 
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This was also echoed by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) which noted that although children remain susceptible to infection, it was "highly unlikely that the third wave will predominantly or exclusively affect children".
The experts further stated that the onset of Covid-19 also led to an overabundance of information, impacting the mental health of people. This was further exacerbated by the lockdowns and other restrictions.
"There is fear and uncertainty associated with Covid-19, anxiety, and distress caused by lockdowns and social distancing, limited access to mental health services -- and this is all due to the misinformation and disinformation surfacing around," National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences' (NIMHANS) Centre for Psycho-Social Support in Disaster Management head, Prof K. Sekar, said.
Interestingly, the World Economic Forum cautions overabundance of information as digital wildfires, JNU's Centre of Social Medicine & Community Health Chairperson Dr. Rajib Das Gupta said.
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The experts noted that the misinformation also plays a role in vaccine hesitancy.
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Source-IANS