Covid Vaccination For Kids From Jan 2022

The Government of India is planning a policy on Covid-19 vaccinations for children soon. According to reports, the vaccination for children with comorbidities or health conditions is likely to start from January 2022. However, all other kids are only eligible for vaccinations from March 2022.

The Union government is also planning to come up with a policy on the booster doses for adults soon. The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India (NTAGI) is going to hold a meeting regarding the vaccination for children and booster doses for adults.

Currently, United States has permitted its adults to have additional doses of Covid vaccine. Now, other countries are following the US. India is likely to join the legion. The booster doses for adults and older people (aged above 60) would be the top priority just like the first phase of vaccination. The booster shots too follow phase-wise inoculation just like the vaccination drive.

Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is yet to get the final approval for children aged 2-18 years. While it is recommended for use in children (2-18 years), it awaits the final nod for EUA from the DCGI. Only after Covaxin gets all its approvals, the vaccination for children are likely to begin in the country.

The government believes that Zydus Cadila’s DNA vaccine Zy-CoV-D — a 3-dose vaccine may not be adequate to start inoculating to children since it was only given emergency use authorisation (EUA) for children between 12-17 years.