The Center on Thursday notified that a decision regarding vaccination of children would be taken based on the recommendation of an expert committee. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed on immunization of all eligible children at the earliest with “special campaigns” in schools, a priority of the government.
According to sources, the immunization of children will be discussed in the meeting of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) to be held this Friday.
India’s drug regulator DCGI on Tuesday granted emergency use authorization for Biologics E’s COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax for people in the age group of five to 12 years and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children in the age group of six to 12 years. . And after this, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday, “The decision (on vaccination for the age group 5-12) will be taken on the basis of the recommendation of an expert committee.”
Corbevax is currently being used to vaccinate children between the ages of 12 and 14 against COVID-19. Covaxin was granted an Emergency Use List (EUL) by DCGI for the 12-18 age group on December 24, 2021. India started immunization of children in the age group of 12-14 on 16 March.