Help children wash and sanitise hands

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

As the UAE has been acknowledged as doing extremely well in containing the SARS-CoV2, a Paediatric and Adolescent consultant in Abu Dhabi believes adults must continually set the example for children with regard to mindfulness in observing at all times the tried-and-tested measures against the contagion which may yet evolve into other variants.

“With the increased vaccination rates in adults and subsequent protection, we are confident this will lessen the risk of exposure to children. Eventually, vaccination of children should help too,” Dr Philip Fischer of the Sheikh Shakbout Medical City (SSMC) said on Tuesday.

He also said: “Prevention is key. Children should follow in the footsteps of adults and social distance. Always wear a mask and regularly wash and sanitise hands. Help the children wash and sanitise their hands.”

SSMC, a joint venture of the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company and Mayo Clinic in the USA is a repeat exhibitor at the “Arab Health,” ongoing until June 24 (Thursday) at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Fischer pointed out the need to practise the now well-disseminated safety measures against the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) as Gulf Today asked him on how children could be safeguarded from the upper respiratory tract disease since he had discussed at the “Management of Post-Acute COVID Primary Care” forum his experience and learnings from his 23-year care and treatment of many teenagers in the USA, England and Central America including his six months in the UAE, suffering from post-infection chronic fatigue and chronic pain.

At the forum, he also touched on the Autonomic (Involuntary) Nervous System Syndrome (ANSD), a cause of fatigue resulting from COVID-19. The other specialists shared how previous knowledge of persistent post-infection problems relate to the medical conditions seen in COVID-19 survivors.

Meanwhile, in the interview, Fischer clarified that SSMC is not a COVID-19 facility but its staff collaborate with the SEHA-administered Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in taking care of the stricken, “many of whom are children diagnosed with the coronavirus (and) I have personally cared for several patients with acute COVID19-with anything from mild runny nose to fever to severe lung infections requiring intensive care. Our patients here at SSMC are fully recovered from COVID-19 who test negative. Some present the Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome, a condition that appears to be linked to (COVID-19) and causes severe inflammation of the heart, lungs, kidneys, digestive system, brain, skin and eyes.”