A health worker administers a COVID-19 vaccine to a teenager in Kanyakumari, January 3, 2022. Photo: PTI
New Delhi: The Centre is likely to begin the Covid vaccination for children in the age group of 12 -14 years this week, while the co-morbidity clause for administering precaution doses to senior citizens would be removed, official sources said on Monday.
Biological E’s Corbevax will be administered to 12-14 years age-group.
(Editor’s note: Note that there is no data yet in the public domain about the efficacy and safety of Corbevax.)
“The vaccination of children in the age group of 12 -14 years is most likely to begin from Tuesday. Also, the co-morbidity clause for administering precaution doses to those aged 60 years and above would be removed,” an official source said.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2 last year.
The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.
The country launched vaccination for all aged more than 45 years from April 1, 2021. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1 last year.
The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from January 3, for adolescents aged 15-18 years.
India began administering booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare workers, frontline workers, including personnel deployed for election duty and those aged 60 and above with co-morbidities, from January 10 this year.