New Delhi: Children between 15 to 18 can register for COVID-19 vaccines on the CoWIN app from January 1st using their school ID cards, the government said Monday morning. CoWIN chief Dr RS Sharma told that an additional slots had been created on the online platform so students could use their ID cards to register for the shots. This is because some may not have Aadhaar or other required ID cards, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, had said children in the 15-18 age groups could get their first round of Covid vaccines from January 3rd.
Children in India will be vaccinated with one of two shots – either Bharat Biotech’s double-dose Covaxin or Zydus Cadila’s three-dose ZyCoV-D, both of which have been cleared for kids over 12. A third possible vaccine is Serum Institute’s Novavax, which the national drug controller has cleared trials for kids between 7 and 11 years of age. A fourth is Biological E’s Corbevax, which has been cleared to conduct advanced trials on children above 5. Neither Novavax nor Corbevax has been cleared for use as yet. Dr NK Arora, chief of India’s immunisation task force, told that Covaxin showed a very good immune response in tests on the 15-18 age groups. ZyCov-D is indigenously developed and the world’s first DNA-based, needle-free COVID-19 vaccine, with its three doses to be administered 28 days apart.
In November the government said it had agreed to buy one crore doses at Rs. 265 per dose. India is trailing several other countries including many in Europe, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand – in offering Covid vaccines for kids. However, the decision to finally start vaccinating children has met with mixed responses, with some, including parents, expressing concern over possible side effects on younger recipients. They have pointed to rising Covid cases – fuelled partly by the Omicron strain – to question the need to vaccinate kids, who are believed to be a low-risk group.