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New Delhi: While price talks are on for India’s only approved vaccine for children (12-18 years), some questions remain unresolved, delaying any concrete blueprint for introducing Covid vaccination to minors.
Senior government officials told ThePrint that questions included whether to cover comorbidities on a priority basis, and which documents to accept as proof of conditions. About 40 percent of the Indian population is below 18 years of age.
A senior official said, “The NTAGI (National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization) working group (on Covid) is having an enthusiastic discussion on the questions – who to cover and how to ensure that the process is easy for parents. And it’s both foolproof.” The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told ThePrint.
“We are waiting for his decision on this,” he said. Negotiations with Zydus Cadila are still on and we hope to see positive results soon.
The company’s needle-free vaccine, Zycov-D, is approved for use in children 12 to 18 years of age.
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, which is currently being used in the national program, has also recommended For use in children under two years of age by an expert panel examining vaccines.
However, Covaxin data for young people is still being examined by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), and the vaccine has not yet received emergency use authorization for use in minors.
Without determining the list of co-morbidities, it will also not be clear about the number of Indian children who can expect to receive the vaccine this year. This, even as Schools in most states Either back to offline education, or have set up a hybrid mode where parents can choose whether their children want to attend classes online or offline.
Without comorbidities, officials say it is likely that the wait for a vaccine could extend to 2022.
Dr NK Arora, president of NTAGI’s Covid Vaccine Working Group, sent a one-line reply to ThePrint’s specific questions about the number of children who can expect to receive the vaccine this year and the number of children with current illnesses and needs. is in. initial cover. “Work is in progress. No list finalized,” he said over text message.
NITI Aayog member (health) Dr VK Paul, who is also co-chair of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID (NeGAVC), did not respond to calls and a WhatsApp text from ThePrint.
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‘Same process for adults’
A member of the Covid-19 working group said discussions are ongoing, but it is expected that the documentation for vaccination in children will be “similar to what has been done in adults”.
In April this year, when India opened vaccination to people over the age of 45 with comorbidities, a prescription from any registered medical practitioner was acceptable as proof of illness. Subsequently, in May, when vaccinations were introduced for all adults, this requirement was automatically removed.
“it is us It is clear that children who have co-morbidities should be vaccinated on a priority basis. We’re looking forward to using the same system as we did for adults but we want to make it as simple as possible for parents. That is what we are discussing right now,” said a member of NTAGI’s Covid-19 working group.
“For Covaxin, we haven’t seen the data yet. Yes, our recommendations are taking a while but that’s not the only thing stopping the vaccination of children. Do you know how much the Zydus vaccine will cost? ?” the member asked.
It has been more than two months since Zycov-D was approved for emergency use, but the Indian government has been unable to reach an agreement on pricing of the vaccine, which uses a Special and expensive applicator to give a shot. Each dose of Zycov-D consists of two shots on both hands of the recipient.
Only 1 Crore Dose of Zycov-D Available
While talks are on with the manufacturer on the procurement cost of Zycov-D for the government, there are also concerns about how many doses of the vaccine will be available by the end of the year.
Accounting for an average 10 percent dose wastage and the fact that it is a three-dose vaccine – unlike the two-dose Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V, currently in use in the national program – there is an available stockpile of nearly one million doses. It is enough to vaccinate only 3 million children out of the estimated 450 million children in India. That is why the question of which concomitant diseases to include in the first stage of vaccination of children is so important.
Covaxin, the first indigenous Covid vaccine, has only 11.68 crore of the over 100 crore doses administered in India so far.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Read also: Covid year brings down routine vaccination by 5%, but states show surprising trend
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