Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian on Wednesday said that the state is set to become the first in the country to administer Covid-19 vaccines to children aged two years and above.
Subramanian said that once the Tamil Nadu state government gets the nod from the Centre regarding the inoculation of the vaccine, the state would be the first to do so, news agency PTI reported. He highlighted that TN was the first state to inoculate pregnant women after the Centre said they were eligible for vaccinations. More than 500,000 pregnant women have been administered the vaccine, he also said.
The minister’s remarks came a day after the subject experts committee (SEC) on Tuesday, recommended the use of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin on those in the two to 18 age group, HT had previously reported. However, an approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) is required for the vaccine to be administered in children.
If approved by the DCGI, Covaxin would become the first vaccine for children under 12 years of age. Earlier, Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D was given approval for people aged 12 and above, but the vaccine is yet to be included in the country’s immunisation drive.
{{/usCountry}}If approved by the DCGI, Covaxin would become the first vaccine for children under 12 years of age. Earlier, Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D was given approval for people aged 12 and above, but the vaccine is yet to be included in the country’s immunisation drive.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Subramanian lauded the Coimbatore district in the state for immunising 93% of its population with at least one dose and 37% of its population fully. The minister also said that five mobile vans were launched on the day, in five zones in the Coimbatore city, to help reach 100% vaccinations by door-to-door service.
Recently on Sunday (October 10), TN concluded its fifth mega vaccination camp, a method the state has adopted to boost Covid-19 vaccination rate in the state and also to create awareness about the vaccine. In the preceding four Sundays, four such camps were conducted in the state.
On Wednesday, 1,280 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Tamil Nadu as the total confirmed infections reached 2,682,137 while 19 more people lost their lives as the death toll climbed to 35,833, a bulletin from the state health department showed. As many as 52,379,870 doses of the vaccine have been administered in the state till 7am on the day, the Union health ministry’s data showed.