Teens in India ready for their Covaxin shot

Vaccination for the age group of 15-18 years has started all over India from January 3rd, 2022. The vaccination for teenagers started soon after PM Narendra Modi's announcement on 25th December, 2021.

The announcement made it clear that along with the vaccination for 15 years and above, India is also set to start the booster shot as well. The frontline health workers and the people who are above 60 years with co-morbidities are eligible for the booster shot as of now. 

The vaccination for teenagers was soon announced after the DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India)  approved Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for those above 12 years of age. Bharat Biotech's Covaxin is the indigenously developed vaccine of India. Full dosage of Covaxin consists of two doses with a gap of four weeks between each other. 

Currently the exact efficacy of Covaxin for the children is not clear. According to the statement by Bharat Biotech, "Covaxin has established a proven record for safety and efficacy in adults for the original variant and subsequent. We look forward for Covaxin to provide similar levels of protection for adults and children alike." The Union Health Secretary, Rajesh Bhushan had assured the states that additional doses of Covaxin will be supplied to all the states and Union Territories. 

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Guidelines for the Teenage Vaccination Drive

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India released the set of guidelines and protocols that need to be adhered while inoculating the teenagers from January 3rd. The document of guidelines also emphasizes that India’s vaccination procedure is based on reliance on science along with epidemiological evidence.  According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 90% of the adult population has already been vaccinated with a minimum of one dose of vaccine. 

The guidelines specifically mention that the vaccine inoculated to the 15-18 year olds need to be Covaxin only. Those who have their year of birth of 2007 or before, are now eligible to register for vaccination through the Co-WIN Portal. 

The self-registration can be done online through the online portal. The option for onsite or walk-in registrations is also available, where the vaccinator or the verifier can register those who are eligible. There will be a half-an-hour observation period after the vaccination procedure. 

States have also been advised to have some separate Covid Vaccine Centres (CVCs) for the 15-18 age group, in order to avoid crowding or any sort of confusion. Forming separate vaccination teams and queues for the teenagers is also advised to ensure smooth functioning of the vaccination procedure. 

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Vaccine Shelf-Life controversy

Amid the procedures to start vaccination for children, a concern regarding the ‘expired’ Covaxin shots were raised among the people. The controversy arose when people were skeptical about the expiry date of the Covaxin which had the shelf life till November. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare clarified that the shelf life of the vaccine was extended from nine months to twelve months.

The WHO states “The shelf life of a vaccine is a reflection of how long the vaccine retains its potency and stability at a given storage temperature and therefore its effectiveness.” As per the statement by the Ministry, the shelf life was extended by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). According to the CDSCO, the shelf life of Covaxin was extended on the basis of the “stability data '' submitted by Bharat Biotech.

The centre has dismissed the claims of Covaxin stock being expired and has called the claim to be "false and misleading". The CDSCO had given the extension of Covaxin shelf life on 25th October, 2021. Previously, a  similar kind of extension of expiry date was given to Covishield in February 2021. 

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WHO's take on Vaccination for Children

In a statement released by WHO (World Health Organization) in November 2021, it has expressed its opinion on the matter of vaccination for children. According to WHO's statement, children and adolescents are at a lower risk of having serious disease as compared to the adults. However, vaccinating them can reduce the risk of having severe disease. 

But the main concern of WHO expressed in its statement is regarding the matter of global vaccine equity. The concerns expressed were that the higher income countries are moving towards booster doses and vaccination for children whereas countries with lower income are struggling to get sufficient supply. Many lower income countries have only a few vaccine supply for even the vulnerable groups such as the old aged people. Therefore WHO considers vaccination of children to be less urgent as compared to vaccinating all the adult population. 

Although, it also states that the benefit-risk assessment shows that vaccinating all the age groups which includes children as well can prove to be beneficial in lowering the severity and death. The vaccines approved by the stringent regulatory authorities for the particular age group can be used for children and adolescents. Vaccines can reduce the burden of disease in these age groups. 

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First Day of vaccine shot

As the vaccination for children started from January 3rd, 41,27,468 children were vaccinated on the very first day. According to the Delhi government’s data, there are around 1.01 million children who are now eligible to get their Covid jab. 20,998 of them have already taken their first shot on 3rd January. 

Initially there were some glitches while registering through the online portal, which were later resolved. Covishield vaccine was being allotted to some children by mistake through the Co-WIN portal. The error in the portal was fixed after a while and those who had already booked their slots of Covishield vaccine were guided to the nearest Covaxin vaccination centres. 

Several districts in Delhi have started vaccination for children at camps. Camps will be made in private and government schools to vaccinate the children, according to the Delhi government officials. Numbers of vaccinated children are expected to rise in the coming days as vaccination set-ups for hospitals, dispensaries and schools are being planned. 

India’s vaccination drive is seeing a new progress with the vaccination for teenagers and booster jabs. Bahrain, Israel, Egypt, Oman, Canada, Saudi Arabia, China and other countries in Europe have already started vaccination for the children. Vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna are being inoculated to children and adolescents in several countries.