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Centre waiting for scientific validation of Covid jabs for children, says VK Paul
With schools reopening all over the country questions on the availability of vaccines for children have started to roll in.
The Union government is actively working to seek scientific validation for the potential use of vaccines in children, top public health expert Dr VK Paul said on Thursday. Paul, NITI Ayog Member (Health), told a press briefing that Zydus Cadila has already been licensed for use in children and Covaxin’s trial in children is nearing its completion. He said that once the results are out, another potential vaccine will be available.
"Only a few nations, a limited number of nations, have introduced vaccination for children, there is no WHO recommendation for it,” he said. Paul’s words come on the heels of the report submitted last month by the committee set up by the Union home ministry to the Prime Minister’s Office urging that vaccination drives should be prioritised among children with comorbidities and those with special needs.
Besides Covaxin and Zydus Cadila, other potential vaccines are also on the pipeline including Bio SE, Covavax, and Novavax.
Just last week, Latin American country Cuba became the first nation in the world to administer Covid jabs to children as young as two, using home-grown Abdala and Soberana vaccines, which are yet to be recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Both the vaccines have completed their clinical trials in children, and on September 3, the island nation kicked off its inoculation drive for those aged 2-11 years, before schools reopen.
Israel, the US, and Singapore also inoculated children between the ages of 12-18 with the Pfizer-BioNTech SE jab. France started offering the Covid-19 vaccine to those above 12 years of age from June of this year. The UK has started inoculating 16 and 17-year-olds but is yet to launch a vaccination drive for those between the ages of 12 to 15. Countries like Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Dubai, Norway and many others have also started inoculating children.
Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan told reporters on August 26 that Zydus Cadila’s anti-Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine, ZyCov-D, which has been approved for children as young as 12, is likely to be available by the first week of October. Bhushan had however cautioned that it was too early to ascertain whether vaccination will be opened to all children in the country or will be limited to those with comorbidities.
With schools reopening all over the country questions about the availability of vaccines for children have started to roll in. The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) is likely to meet in early September to discuss the modalities of vaccination for those over the age of 12, people familiar with the matter told Hindustan Times.
