COVID vaccination of children in the age group of 15-18, ‘precautionary dose’ from Jan 2022: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that India will start COVID vaccination of children in the age group of 15 to 18 years from January 3, 2022. A “precautionary dose” for health care and frontline workers will be given from January 10, 2022.

He said that even people above 60 years of age with comorbidities will be able to receive the precautionary dose of COVID vaccines from January 10, 2022.

“In India, this is called a ‘precautionary dose’, not a booster dose. The decision on the precautionary dose will strengthen the confidence of the healthcare service and frontline workers,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office read.

In his address to the nation, PM Narendra Modi urged citizens to not panic and follow COVID precautions amid the growing threat from Omicron.

“Infections are increasing in many countries due to the new Omicron version of Kovid. In India too, many people have been found infected with Omicron. I would urge all of you not to panic, be careful and be alert. Remember to wear a mask. Get up and keep washing your hands,” he said.

Talking about India’s preparedness, he said: “Today, the country has 18 lakh isolation beds, 5 lakh oxygen supported beds, 1.4 lakh ICU beds and 90,000 special beds for children. Today, we have over 3,000 functional PSAs. There are oxygen plants and 4 lakh. Cylinders have been made available to all the states.”

PM Modi mentioned that due to the collective effort and will of the people, India has crossed the “unprecedented” and very difficult milestone of delivering 141 crore vaccine doses.

“Today, over 61 percent of India’s adult population has received both doses of the vaccine. Similarly, around 90 percent of the adult population has received a single dose of vaccine,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

PM Modi stressed that following all preventive measures at the individual level and vaccination is the best way to tackle the pandemic, while India started working on mission mode on vaccine development long back.

“Apart from research on vaccines, we were also working on approval processes, supply chain, distribution, training, IT support systems and certification,” the prime minister said.

Announcing important decisions by the central government in the fight against coronavirus, PM Modi said: “We are ready to start vaccination for children in the age group of 15-18 from January 3, 2022. It is not only against COVID Will strengthen our fight, but will also help us in terms of student health in schools and colleges.”

Talking about the contribution of frontline workers, the Prime Minister said, “We all have experienced that corona warriors, health care and frontline workers have made a huge contribution in keeping the country safe in this fight. They are still doing their bit. Spent a lot of time in service of coronavirus patients”.

“Therefore, as a precaution, the government has decided that from Monday, January 10, health care and frontline workers will be given a ‘precautionary dose’ of the vaccine,” he announced.

PM Modi further revealed that people with comorbidities and above 60 years of age will be eligible for the precautionary dose from January 10, 2022, on the recommendation of their doctors.

He also mentioned that the nasal vaccine and the world’s first DNA vaccine will soon be available for vaccination.

COVID Vaccine for Children

While PM Modi did not specify which vaccine would be given to children, it was reported earlier in the day that the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Bharat Biotech’s vaccine – Covaxin – for children aged 12-18 years. Emergency use approved. years.

In November, Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla had said that the Covovax vaccine should be given to children in India, not Covishield, and that it would be available in six months’ time.

Poonawalla told NDTV, “No Covishield… CovoVax should be available in six months. (The) Trials are underway… No safety issues as of now. We are seven years old (with good results).” Gone…” a month ago.

Prior to Covaxin, Zydus Cadila’s needle-free COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D received regulatory approval for use among people under the age of 18.

The announcement of vaccination and precautionary doses for children comes amid concerns over the possibility of India seeing a third wave of COVID infections as cases of omicrons continue to rise in the country.