Dr NK Arora, chairperson of Covid-19 working group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India (NTAGI), has highlighted the benefits of starting immunization of adolescents in the 15-18 years age group, kicking off on January 3, 2022.
A day before, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to commence vaccination drive for those in the 15-18 years age group amid rising threat of Omicron variant.
Throwing more light on the decision, Dr Arora said children between the age of 12 and 18 years behave very much like adults. Research indicates that almost two-third of COVID19 deaths (below 18 years) in India are within this age group. Therefore this decision was taken to protect the adolescents. They are quite mobile, they have to go to the school colleges and therefore the risk of getting infection is high, Dr Arora said.
Pointing out other benefits, Dr Arora said many times these adolescents get infection into their households where elderly and those with co-morbidities can get infected. In view of all this, the country has decided to introduce vaccination for children between 15 and 18 years.
There is no special effort required in the implementation of the vaccination. Immunization of these children can be started in a short period without specific preparation. It's a 2-dose schedule given at a 4-week interval and dosage requirement is the same as the adults, the official informed.
This vaccination drive will not only give confidence to them, but I would say it's a great New Year gift for our adolescents, Dr Arora said.
The country already has a vaccine for children. Dr Arora said Bharat Biotech's Covaxin has shown a positive immune response during trials, in fact it is ‘slightly better than adults’.
Further, this is a safe vaccine, and even local effects like pain, and swelling in the arms is much less as compared to adults, he said.
Video Editor: Surendra Pradhan
Producer: Sanchita Mondal