Covid-19 Vaccination For 12-14 Age Group In India To Start Soon. 

Here's What NTAGI Chief Said

Vaccination of children in the age group of 12 to 14 against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) may begin in March once the inoculation of those in the 15-18 year category is completed and a policy decision in this regard may be taken accordingly.

This news comes a day after a minor urged Delhi High Court to direct the Centre and authorities concerned to give a road map for COVID-19 vaccination for children below 12 years of age.

Senior Advocate Kailash Vasudev, appearing for a minor petitioner on Monday, submitted that no road map has been given by the government for vaccinating children aged 12 and below. The road map is only provided for those who are 15-18 years old.

India started the Covid vaccination drive for the 15-18 age group from January 3 this year.

Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday informed that over 3.5 crore children between the 15-18 age group have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine so far in the country.

Covid-19 vaccination of children in 12-14 years age group not beginning in March? Official sources say ‘no decision yet’

"Amazing enthusiasm among Young India for COVID-19 vaccination. Over 3.5 crore children between the 15-18 Age group have received 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine, since 3rd January. Congratulations to all my young friends who have got vaccinated," Mandaviya had said in a tweet.

Dr NK Arora, chairman of the Covid-19 working group of NTAGI, said, of the estimated 7.4 crore (7,40,57,000) population in the 15-18 age group, over 3.45 crore have received their first dose of Covaxin so far with the second one due in 28 days.

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya shared on Twitter earlier in the day that over 3.5 crore children in the 15-18 age group have received their first dose since January 3 when the drive was expanded to include the young adults.

The central government is likely to decide initiation of the vaccination programme for the 12-14 years age group in March once kids in the 15-18 years age group are covered

Over the course of two years, the pandemic has taken an extreme toll on all of us. New variants have emerged, making it more difficult for the government and the people to tackle the situation.

COVID-19 vaccination can help protect your child from getting COVID-19.

Although fewer children have been seriously ill with COVID-19 compared to adults, they can, in some cases, become seriously ill or develop severe COVID-19 complications, such as MIS-C (Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children). There is a higher risk of developing severe disease if they have underlying medical conditions.

If your child is not vaccinated, they could carry the virus and spread it to others. Vaccination protects them and makes them less likely to infect others, including you and vulnerable family members like older relatives or persons with weakened immune systems.

Vaccination gives you and your child peace of mind to return to more typical activities like in-person schooling and participating in extracurricular activities.

No decision yet on vaccination for children of age group 12-14 years: Report

In January, 2020, coronavirus vaccines were rolled out in India and netizens breathed a sigh of relief, claiming the vaccines to be the silver bullet against the SARs-COV-2 virus. Now, almost a year later, COVID-19 vaccination drive for teens in the age group between 15 to 18 years has begun in full swing and over 40 lakh children received their first dose on Monday, January 3.

Several countries have started administering COVID vaccines to kids in a certain age group. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has gone a step further and authorized the use of booster shots on children ages 12 to 15, and narrowing down the interval between the second and third shot to five months. Having said that, let us take a look at all the coronavirus vaccines available for kids so far.

Covid vaccination for 12-14 age group was likely to start by March

N K Arora chairman of the Covid-19 working group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation told :: Adolescent vaccination is making impressive strides across the country. A total of 3.31 crore children in the age bracket of 15 to 17 years have already received their first dose, accounting for almost 45% coverage, just 13 days into the drive on January 3 this year. We aim to cover all the 7.4 crore adolescents in the 15-17 age bracket with the first dose by January-end so that we can start vaccinating them with the second dose from early February and finish the second dose by February-end. We want to start vaccinating children between 12 and 14 years from February-end or early March, Dr Arora said. Children aged 12 to 17 are quite like adults, experts said. So, the decision was mainly taken to protect the adolescents in the 15-17 group first. Once their full vaccination is done, the government will take up the policy decision to include the next age group, which is the 12-14 bracket, he added. 

Immunising adolescents is important as they are quite mobile. They go to schools, colleges, mingle and run a high risk of acquiring infection, particularly due to the fast-paced 

Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 12-14 years: Top government expert gives big update

Currently, India has approved as many as five COVID-19 vaccines, which are Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D, Serum Institute's Covovax, Biological E's RBD, and Johnson & Johnson and Ad 26COV.2S vaccine.

However, for now, the only vaccine option available for kids is Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. It has been granted approval for restricted use in an emergency situation in the age group between 12 and 18 years.

Even though Zydus Cadila's COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D received the Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the drug regulator on August 20, it is yet to be launched in the country. It was actually the first COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in kids between the ages of 12-18.

Omicron variant of the coronavirus. This is why the government prioritised this group from the under-18 category, experts said. 

“Expanding the ambit of children’s vaccination is a welcome step. The government should also consider prioritising the vaccination of comorbid children in the 5-14 age group as they are also more at risk of developing severe Covid,” said Dr Pramod Jog, former national president of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics. 

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, which is being given to the country’s adolescents (15-17 group) has the Centre’s Emergency Use Approval for children in the 2-17 group. The vaccine has been found safe and effective in children’s trials in the 2-17 age bracket.

In the United States of America and the European Union countries, Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out in children.

Coronavirus: List of COVID-19 vaccines available for kids around the world

While the European Medicines Agency has approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTech's lower-dose vaccine on the 5-11 age group, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency use authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children in the age group between 5 to 18.

Vaccination of children in the age group of 12 to 14 against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) may begin in March once the inoculation of those in the 15-18 year category is completed and a policy decision in this regard may be taken accordingly.

Dr NK Arora, chairman of the Covid-19 working group of NTAGI, said, of the estimated 7.4 crore (7,40,57,000) population in the 15-18 age group, over 3.45 crore have received their first dose of Covaxin so far with the second one due in 28 days.

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya shared on Twitter earlier in the day that over 3.5 crore children in the 15-18 age group have received their first dose since January 3 when the drive was expanded to include the young adults.

  

Vaxxing the young: Jabs for kids in 12-14 group 2 months away. No word on 5-11 group. Is Covaxin alone enough?

"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," Dr Arora, the chairman of the Covid working group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The government is likely to take a policy decision for initiating the vaccination drive for the 12-14 age group in March, he added. According to him, there is an estimated 7.5 crore population in the 12-14 age group.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2, 2021.