Chennai: India today started vaccinating children from 12 to 14 years. The exercise has commenced in Tamilnadu too. The Union Health Ministry said the decision was taken after due deliberations with scientific bodies.
The vaccine to be administered would be Corbevax, manufactured by Biological E. Limited, Hyderabad. Those above 14 years are already being administered Covid-19 vaccine.
With the drive for 12-14-year-olds starting today, 6-6.5 crore youngsters will be inoculated. The government has already placed an order of five crore Corbevax vaccine doses and supplies have also started coming in. The government’s decision is based on due deliberations with scientific bodies.
‘If children are safe, then the country is safe. I am happy to announce that from 16 March, Covid vaccination will start for children belonging to the age group of 12-14 years. Also, all 60 years and above will now be able to take the precaution dose. I request guardians of all children and persons in the 60 and above age group to come forward and take the vaccine shot,’ Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.
Dr. Gauri Agarwal, founder-director, Seeds of Innocence and Genestrings Diagnostics, said the government’s decision was a positive step as most schools across the country have opened and children started taking offline classes.
‘The third wave of coronavirus has passed and adult vaccination rates are rapidly approaching their full potential. In this scenario, vaccinating children will aid in the fight against future Covid-19 outbreaks. This will boost herd immunity, protecting people with a weak immune system. The success rate of the vaccination of children will be used to determine whether children under the age of 12 should be vaccinated. More research will be needed to evaluate whether or not children under the age of 12 need the vaccine,’ she said.
The Centre on Tuesday released guidelines for Covid-19 vaccination of children between 12-14 years that will begin from March 16 and said only Corbevax vaccine would be used for the beneficiaries of this age group.
According to the guidelines, all beneficiaries born in 2010 or earlier — those who have already attained the age of 12 years — will be able to register on CoWIN. ‘The vaccination slots will be booked for 12-14 years age group for ‘CorBEvax’ only through Co-WIN. Vaccinator has to ensure that the vaccine is administered to only those children who have completed the age of 12 years on the date of vaccination and if a child is registered but has not attained the age of 12 years, the vaccination is not to be given,’ the guidelines said.