Drive to vaccinate 15-18 yrs with both doses to accomplish by Feb end, 3.45 cr kids given first shot
India may begin inoculating children in the 12-14 age group against Covid-19 in March by when the 15-18 population is likely to get fully vaccinated, said Dr NK Arora, chairman of the Covid-19 working group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), on Monday.
Of the estimated 7.4 crore (7,40,57,000) population in the 15-18 age bracket, over 3.45 crore have received the first dose of Covaxin so far, and their second dose is due in 28 days, he said.
“Adolescents in this age group have been actively participating in the inoculation process, and going by this pace of vaccination, the rest of the beneficiaries in the 15-18 age group are likely to be covered with the first dose by January-end and subsequently their second dose is expected to be done by February-end,” he said, adding, there is an estimated 7.5 crore population in the 12-14 age group.
The Government has begun vaccination for teenagers between 15 and 18 years of age from January 3, 2022.
Data shows that children are as susceptible to catching infection as adults are. The vaccine protects against severe disease.
“These older teenagers are quite socially active and so are at a higher risk of catching the virus as compared to younger kids. By vaccinating them, we are not only safeguarding them but also stopping the chain of transmission to a great extent,” said Dr Praveen Kumar, associate professor, pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi.
Presently Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, an inactivated virus vaccine, is being used to inoculate children.
“It’s a time-tested technology which is both safe and efficacious”, says Dr Manju Puri, consultant gynecologist, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi.
“These vaccines have been in use for about a year now. No major side effects have been reported. In fact, we were so confident about their safety that we even gave them to pregnant women and lactating mothers,” she said.
However, doctors add that children, like adults, may experience mild side effects of the vaccine such as pain at the vaccine site, fatigue, mild fever, for a few days.
On the overall vaccination status of the country, a senior official from the Union Health Ministry said that with the administration of more than 39 lakh Doses (39,46,348) vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 157.20 crore (1,57,20,41,825) as per reports till 7 am on Monday.
