Vukomanovic talks about baby and two teens whose life is in danger: First children on ventilators

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There are currently four Covid positive children at the Institute for Mother and Child in Belgrade, three of whom are on ventilators. They are 17 and 15 years old, and the youngest is a five-month-old baby. Professor Vladislav Vukomanovic has told RTS that children who are on a ventilator are in life-threatening condition. Thinking, "my child will certainly not get infected" is not a good way of thinking, says Dr. Vukomanovic.

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Professor Dr. Vladislav Vukomanovic stressed that every patient connected to a ventilator is in life-threatening condition.

"So in this case, a 17-year-old boy who is obese, a girl aged 15 or 16, without any comorbidities, and a five-month-old infant," says Vukomanovic.

When asked if this is the first time that children had to be connected to ventilators, the doctor says that now the clinical pattern of the manifestation of the infection in children is different.

"Only six months ago, patients with multi-system inflammatory syndrome dominated when it comes to the severity of the disease. We had about 55 of them here, maybe more. Everyone was cured and we hope they are completely healthy," says Vukomanovic.

He points out that these are now patients with severe pneumonia.

"All three of these patients on ventilators have severe pneumonia, while one patient was admitted 48 hours ago for inflammation of the heart muscle and inflammation of the heart sac - meaning there are various and very severe acute manifestations of this disease," the doctor added.

"The most important thing is to break this chain of transmission of the infection and the circulation of the virus in the population. According to epidemiologists, that is possible if 70 or 80 percent of the population gets vaccinated. When that happens, then the circulation of the virus, as well as the number of infected people, will drop significantly, and thus the number of infected children," says Vukomanovic.

He points out that as the number of infected adults increases, so does the number of infected children.

"What is bad news, not to call it alarming news, is that children now exhibit a very, very severe form of the disease. Thinking my child will certainly not get infected is not a good way of thinking. First of all, parents, you all get vaccinated, while vaccination of children aged 12 to 18 has been approved, especially for at-risk groups of patients in whom the disease can be severe," says Dr. Vukomanovic.

And in another children's clinic - the Children's Clinic of the Clinical Hospital Center Dr. Dragisa Misovic, 24 Covid positive children are being treated, many of whom have bilateral pneumonia.

(Telegraf.rs)