Sri Lanka commenced vaccinating children above 12 years of age since January and as per the observations made by paediatricians no complications have been reported so far. “It’s best to advice children to get themselves vaccinated,” said Dr. Deepal Perera, Consultant Paediatrician at Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH).  

“We see a clear reduction in the number of COVID cases among children and we are planning to close down the wards at LRH. There’ll be one isolation ward kept open for infectious diseases.”  

However, he said that there are frequent dengue cases and around 10-15 patients get admitted daily. “Many are from Colombo and the suburbs. Dengue is now an endemic disease.

Sometimes people show symptoms of both dengue and COVID. These days some common symptoms of COVID include vomiting and fever that lasts for more than two days,” he added.  

Dr. Perera further said that COVID infections could also lead to Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C). If children have fever along with a stomach ache, red eyes, diarrhoea, skin rash or vomiting, then it’s likely that your child has been infected with MIS-C. Therefore it is advisable to seek medical attention if you observe these symptoms in your child. According to the Centre for Disease Control, this condition is said to cause inflammation in the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs.