In a major development, the Central government has said that children aged 12 years and above may get the vaccine from the first week of October. As per the information, the vaccine will be first given to those children who are battling a serious disease.
This statement comes amid concerns that the third wave is more likely to affect children.
The COVID panel chief N K Arora said that details of the vaccination of children between 12 and 17, including prioritising those with health complications, will be announced before the Zydus Cadila vaccine is rolled out, which will be by end of October.
The vaccines for healthy children will be available by the first quarter of 2022. The children with co-morbidities are more likely to develop severe diseases and hence they will be prioritised, he added.
He also suggested that schools should be reopened, citing the latest sero survey to explain that children are less likely to get severe coronavirus infection.
Arora, chairperson of the technical group on vaccines, also noted that the list of children and the kind of comorbidities that would be drawn up is expected to get finalised soon.
According to reports, there are about 120 million children in the age group of 12 to 17 years in the country. Of which, less than 1 per cent of them may have health problems.
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