Indonesia Covid children: over 100 child deaths per week were recorded in the Southeast Asian country, many were under 5 years old
Indonesia is among the countries that have suffered the most from the force of the second wave of Covid-19. What is worrying, however, is the fact that in recent weeks hundreds of children have died, many of them under the age of 5. The infant mortality rate associated with Coronavirus recorded in Indonesia is higher than that of any other country in the world. In general, it was thought that children were more resistant to Covid-19 but the case of the Southeast Asian nation seems to have overturned the certainties of scientists. Local doctors have several theories to explain the massacre of minors that has characterized Indonesia in recent weeks.
Indonesia Covid children: over 100 deaths per week. There are several hypotheses on the causes
The deaths, more than 100 a week this month, are accompanied by a pandemic crisis in general very heavy: the deaths among children coincide with a surge in cases, ‘inflated’ by the Delta variant that swept the south-east Asian (not only Indonesia, but also Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam). On Friday, the Indonesian government recorded almost 50,000 new infections and 1,566 deaths. Children represent 12.5% of confirmed cases, an increase compared to previous months. And more than 150 have died in the week since July 12 alone, half of them under the age of 5. In all, more than 800 children and young people under the age of 18 have died from Covid-19 in Indonesia, but most of these deaths have occurred in the last month.
There is still no clarity on the causes. Certainly the low vaccination rate has an impact: only 16% of Indonesians have received a dose and only 6% are fully vaccinated. It is also possible that the deceased children and young people started from unsanitary conditions. Furthermore, the hospitals, many of which are overloaded beyond capacity, are not equipped to care for children. “Our numbers are the highest in the world – noted, speaking with the New York Times, the head of the Indonesian Pediatric Society, Aman Bhakti Pulungan – Why don’t we give the best to our children?”.