Three Vaccines Likely To Be Available Soon For Children Between 12-18 Age Group

NITI Aayog's Dr. VK Paul said India is readying its own vaccines for children.

Image Source (PTI)

New Delhi: The US began administering Covid vaccines to adolescents, the UK on Friday approved Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 15 after a "rigorous review". The Pfizer vaccine is already approved for use in people aged 16 and over.

India currently anticipates a third wave which some experts say will affect children the most. It is expected that the third wave could be as severe as the second and last for an average duration of 98 days, according to an SBI report. The report also went on to warn regarding children saying that they could be the next vulnerable group, and vaccination should be the key priority. 

“With around 150-170 million children in the 12-18 age bracket, India should go for an advanced procurement strategy like that adopted by developed nations to inoculate this age group," the report said.

During a press conference, when asked if the Pfizer vaccine, when available in India, will be considered for children between the age of 12 and 15 years as the UK has approved it for this category, NITI Aayog's Dr. VK Paul said India is readying its own vaccines for children.

"Child cohort is not a small cohort. My rough guess is that if it is between 12 to 18 years, this itself is about 13 to 14 crore population and for which we will need about 25-26 crore doses. We cannot have some people getting and others not getting. So we will have to take this into account when we strategize and make a decision based on how many doses of which vaccines are available," he was quoted as saying by PTI.

He further said that not only Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, but Zydus Cadila's vaccine is already being tested on children.

"So when Zydus comes for licensure, hopefully in the next two weeks, maybe we have enough data to take a view whether the vaccine can be given to children," he said.

These pathways of decision-making and analysis are being actively considered and examined, he added.