In the Omicron-driven third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India, a comparatively younger population was more infected, a survey by the Indian Council of Medical Research into hospital data has revealed. The data has been sourced from 37 hospitals across the country, director general of ICMR, Dr Balram Bhargava said.
The average age of hospitalisation during the third wave was around 44, while earlier the average age was 55. The hospitalisation data between December 16, 2021, and January 17, 2022, was compared with that of November 15 and December 15.
Explaining the clinical profile of those who got hospitalised during the third wave in India, Dr Bhargava said that they were comparatively young but with surprisingly high co-morbidities. “Having said that, the co-morbidities present in this younger population were pretty high. About 46 per cent had co-morbidities, these are the people who are younger…but nearly half of them had some co-morbidities,” Dr Bhargava said.
The third wave, which is believed to be waning in India now, has been markedly different from the second wave of the pandemic which witnessed a huge number of deaths. There have been other differences too, the government data pointed out. As doctors treating Omicron patients earlier pointed out, the government data said that all symptoms were in lesser proportions among the hospitalised patients. Sore throat was the predominant symptom. ( HT )
