New Delhi: National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has warned of a third COVID19 wave peak in October in its recent report to Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The NIDM published a 55-page report early this month, 'COVID-19 THIRD WAVE PREPAREDNESS: CHILDREN'S VULNERABILITY AND RECOVERY', discussing the pandemic. 

The report stated that India's second wave of COVID-19 has been catastrophic, with a surging increase in new cases in the past months.

Read: ZyCOV-D vaccine supply to start in mid-September

Experts have warned of an imminent third COVID-19 wave in the report while the nation was still in the middle of a raging second wave. In the first week of May 2021, K Vijay Raghvan, Principal Scientific Advisor to PM, called the third wave of COVID inevitable and that it could cross-age groups and may put children at similar risk as adults.

Also, Some experts warned that a third wave could hit within 12-16 weeks, and others are worried about newer mutations that can weaken existing vaccines. 

Third-wave and children: 

Many health experts had initially raised concerns about the possibility of a third wave affecting children more adversely than adults. However, the report suggested that recent scientific data suggests otherwise.

The Indian Academy of Paediatrics found no biological evidence that the current and the new Delta Plus variant will affect children more disproportionately than adults. The Lancet COVID-19 Commission India Task Force has also concluded that there is no current evidence that an anticipated third wave will target children specifically.