Once vaccine gets nod, Chandigarh to vaccinate 1.39 lakh children

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 6

Once Covid-19 vaccine is approved for children, Chandigarh will have a target of administering 1,39,000 doses to children in the age group of 12 to 17 years. The data pertaining to children in this age group was presented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the Lok Sabha.

Officialspeak

The Government of India has chalked out a plan for immunisation for children but is very careful in the roll-out. So far, no intimation has been received by the Union Territory in this regard. However, some states have been included in the first batch of roll-out wherein ZyCoV-D will be administered to the adults first in these states.—  Dr Suman Singh, director, Health Services, Chandigarh

The National Expert Group on Vaccine administration for Covid (NEGVAC) and the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) are deliberating and considering scientific evidences related to vaccination of children in this age group.

As of now, the ZyCoV-D vaccine, manufactured by Cadila Healthcare, has received the approval for “restricted use in emergency setting” by the National Regulator, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), for the age group of 12 years and above, based on the interim clinical data of Phase III clinical trial conducted in the country.

The ZyCoV-D vaccine will initially be used in seven states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. It will only be administered to adults in the seven states as of now. The vaccine will be administered using a needle-free applicator called “PharmaJet”, as opposed to the traditional syringes.

A needle-free applicator ensures painless intradermal vaccine delivery, which also leads to a significant reduction in any kind of major side effects. ZyCoV-D is the first DNA plasmid vaccine in the world for human use, developed indigenously by the company.

At present, four more Covid-19 vaccines are under clinical trials in the country for persons less than 18 years of age, including that of Serum Institute of India which is conducting Phase II/III clinical trials of Nanoparticle Vaccine (Liquid) (COVOVAX) in 920 subjects in the age group 2 to 17 years. The PGIMER, Chandigarh, is one of the trial sites for this vaccine.

Dr Suman Singh, Director, Health Services, Chandigarh, said: “The Government of India has chalked out a plan for immunisation for children but is very careful in the rollout. So far, no intimation has been received by the Union Territory in this regard. However, some states have been included in the first batch of rollout wherein ZyCoV-D will be administered to the adults first in these states.”