Health experts are split on the government’s decision to begin vaccination of 12 to 14-year-olds on Wednesday. Many people feel that youngsters do not need to be vaccinated.
In India, 12-14-year-olds will be eligible for coronavirus vaccine starting on Wednesday. After months of discussion, the Centre decided to expand the vaccine programme to encompass an additional 6.5 crore youngsters.
“The Union government, following proper debate with scientific bodies, has decided to begin the Covid-19 immunisation for 12-13 and 13-14 year olds (those born in 2008, 2009, and 2010 i.e. those who are already over 12) on March 16, 2022,” the health ministry stated in a statement.
“The NTAGI did not make any immunisation recommendations to the Centre for children under the age of 15. I’m sorry to learn that the government has dropped below the 15th percentile. There has already been a wave of BA.2 omicron in India, and there is no scientific evidence to suggest that children who have previously been infected will be better protected if they are vaccinated “According to Dr. JP Muliyil, an epidemiology at CMC Vellore and a member of the NTAGI working group.
Dr. Prof. Sanjay Rai, the chief investigator of the covaxin trials at Delhi’s AIIMS, also stated that vaccination of youngsters is not necessary for avoiding the disease’s severity. “Covid-19 causes fewer than 2 per million deaths in youngsters. Unvaccinated adults or those who have not survived spontaneous infection had a mortality rate of 1.5 per million, meaning 15,000 people have died as a result of Covid-19. In the adult categories, we are saving 13,000-14,000 individuals with vaccine. The risk of Covid-19 in children is reduced, but vaccination-related mortality may be greater “he said
According to government sources, a meeting of the AEFI (adverse event after immunisation) committee was held last week to review the adverse occurrences of Covid vaccinations in youngsters aged 16 to 18. Since January 27, 2022, no AEFI reports have been made available.
The Centre reacted on February 4 to the potential of expanding the immunisation push to include individuals under the age of 15.
“Any decision on expanding the list of eligible beneficiaries for the administration of the precautionary dose of Covid-19 vaccines and vaccination of children under the age of 15 years will be made in accordance with the recommendations of the NTAGI on the basis of a review of the available scientific evidence,” the government told Parliament in a written reply on February 4.
Corbevax, a vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based Biological E Limited, would be used to vaccinate 12-14-year-olds across the nation, according to the government. The vaccine has been approved for use as a booster dosage, but only as a regular two-dose vaccination for children aged 12 to 14.
If the vaccine is accessible in government vaccine centres as part of the government’s immunisation programme, it will be provided free of charge.
At private facilities, the Corbevax vaccine, which is given intramuscularly in two doses 28 days apart, would likely cost Rs 145 a dose.
The vaccine is the first Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) Protein sub-unit vaccination against Covid-19 produced in India.
Last month, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved “Corbevax” for emergency use in youngsters aged 12 to 18 years.
Experts have expressed reservations about the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety data, which are not publicly available. The vaccine’s manufacturer has also just submitted an application to the DCGI to vaccinate children aged 5 to 12. Meanwhile, data from a Phase 3 trial involving 12-year-olds has yet to be released.
A day after the Supreme Court ordered the government to present a road map of predicted jab availability through the end of the year, the Centre placed orders worth Rs 1,500 crore as advance payment to Biological E to make 30 crore doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“It should be highlighted that the Covid-19 vaccine is already being provided to those above the age of 14 as part of the continuing immunisation campaign. Covaxin is provided to people between the ages of 15 and 17 “a statement from the government claimed
In yet another significant step, the Centre has abolished the need of co-morbidity for everyone above the age of 60, making them eligible for boosters as of Wednesday.
In anticipation of parents wanting to vaccinate their children, children’s hospitals throughout India have begun stockpiling up on the vaccine.
Dr. Naveen Prakash Gupta, a prominent physician in the neonatology department at Delhi’s Madhukar Rainbow Children’s Hospital, stated, “This vaccination is nearly half the price of the current ones. It is a very cost-effective vaccination for youngsters to get intramuscularly.”
