On Saturday, PM Modi had announced that the COVID vaccination of children between 15-18 would begin from January 3, while the number of COVID vaccines for health and frontline workers as well as the elderly above 60 with co-morbidities would be available. Administration of the “precautionary dose” will begin. From 10 January. However, very few eligible elderly people are actually getting the third dose in January.
As Covishield has a majority (89%) of the total 141 crore doses administered so far, it is estimated that a maximum of 10 million people above 60 with comorbidities will be eligible in January. Vaccination in children ages 15 to 18 will begin with Covaxin, which on Saturday received regulatory approval for emergency use in children over the age of 12. While Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D has also been approved for children over the age of 12, it is still not part of the government’s program.
“Any decision on dosage mix will be taken on the basis of clinical trial results,” an official said.
The government maintains that there is enough dosage available to be able to meet the additional load. States have an inventory of 40 million doses of Covaxin and many states have stopped seeking Covaxin in the over 18 category. As on Sunday, 18 crore unused doses are available with the states. Monthly production of Covaxin and Covishield is estimated to be around 31 crore doses.
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