Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has said that the country should consider reopening schools in a "staggered way". Most schools in India have been shut since March 2020, when the first nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 was imposed.
The renowned pulmonologist and member of India's Task Force on Covid-19 also said that schools can be immediately shut if surveillance hints at the spread of infection. But districts should explore the option of bringing children to schools on alternate days and plan other ways of staggered reopening.
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Dr Randeep Guleria said children have had a good deal of exposure to the virus in India and many of them have developed natural immunity. A survey by AIIMS and the WHO had found that SARS-CoV-2 sero-positivity rate among children was high and comparable to the adult population.
Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech is testing India's first indigenous coronavirus vaccine on children. If the data submitted by the vaccine maker is accepted by regulators (DCGI), the approval for vaccines for children as young as 2 years would come through by September.
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