Government’s decision to start COVID-19 vaccination program for children A protein subunit vaccine, along with Corbevax, between 12 and 14 years, from March 16, is welcome as part of India’s efforts to increase coverage for the school-going population, but it also raises some concerns . One is the urgency to flag off an immunization program for children in this age group, without prior approval from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), a body whose clear mandate is to study the various aspects of the vaccine before approving it. To do. National Immunization Program. Never before has the expert body been completely sidelined in approving a vaccine for a vaccination program, and by doing so, has set an unhealthy precedent. Also, the decision to use the new COVID-19 vaccine earlier on children between 12-14 years could have been avoided without widespread use in adults. truth, Protein Subunit Vaccines Generally considered safe for all age groups, this may not be a reason to start vaccinating young children earlier. Any serious adverse effects observed after the start of the vaccination program could cause vaccine hesitancy and could jeopardize the vaccination schedule for children using other vaccines. It is surprising that Covaxin, which has been used to immunize adults and adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 and whose safety profile is now known, has been excluded for children aged 12-14 .
Earlier, concerns were raised about the absence of efficacy data for Covaxin at the time of approval by the Indian drug regulator and its inclusion in the vaccination program from mid-January 2021, leading to initial vaccine hesitation. It seems that no lesson has been learned. Greenlighting Corbevax for children aged 12-14, even though data on safety, immunity and efficacy have not been made available as a preprint (this is not peer-reviewed), is inexplicable in the current situation, no longer described can be done. as an emergency. The Fourth National Seroprevalence Survey, conducted soon after the peak of the deadly second wave, showed that 67.6% of the population had antibodies against the virus in those above the age of 10. The percentage of children aged 12-14 who may have been infected during the third wave driven by the highly infectious Omron variant could be surprisingly high. The high seroprevalence in this age group even before the third wave makes it even more difficult to understand the urgency shown by the government to vaccinate this subset of children if children are found to be very unlikely to suffer serious illness and death. gives. Evidence-based policy making should not be put off, even if, or especially, if a pandemic is raging.