Schools in Punjab reopened early this week. States like Maharashtra, Karnataka,Tamil Nadu are all set to reopen schools while several other states are preparing to follow suit.
However, COVID-19 vaccines for children are not available in India yet and it has been a cause of concern for parents.
When can children get the vaccine? Randeep Guleria, director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi says that Bharat Biotech, Pfizer and Zydus vaccines for children will soon be available.
“For children above two years of age, Covaxin from Bharat Biotech is under trial at Delhi AIIMS and five other hospitals and interim data is very much positive and encouraging. It will be available for children in September-October after final analysis of data.”
“Zydus Cadila has also come up with vaccine Zycov D for children above 12 years of age,’’ says Dr. Sarita Sharma, senior consultant, Paediatric, PSRI Hospital, New Delhi.
Bharat Biotech has included children in its nasal vaccine trial. Dr Sudha B., Senior Consultant Neonatologist, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad is optimistic about the vaccine that can be administered via the nose instead of being administered into the skin. “It is a one shot nasal vaccine. If the results are favourable, this vaccine administration will be faster.’’
Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Friday that the Covovax vaccine for kids will be launched in the first quarter of the next year—most likely in January-February.
Children in the age group of 12-18 will be given priority in vaccination. The vaccines may be made available for children less than 12 years in different phases of time, depending on the results of the clinical trials. India will need at least 200 million doses to cater to the pediatric population.
Will children get the same dose as adults? “For children above 12 years, the dose is the same as adults for the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine. For children less than 12 years, Pfizer is doing studies with a lower dose. Regarding the Indian vaccine Covaxin, it is still uncertain about the dosage till such time that further research and studies are completed,’’ says Sudha.
The vaccines are safe for children, says Dr Suresh Birajdar, neonatologist and paediatrician, Motherhood Hospital, Kharghar. They are made available for public use only after thorough meticulous studying and after doing clinical trials in age specific populations. “The side effects would be minimal like pain and swelling at the injection site, fever, headache, chills, body ache, and loss of smell and taste,” says Birajdar.
Pfizer BioNtech vaccine is currently used in western countries for children above 12 years.
“Although there are some reports of myocarditis and pericarditis in adolescents and young adults after COVID-19 vaccination, the known and potential benefits outweigh the risks including possible risk of myocarditis and pericarditis,’’ says Sudha.
Inoculating children is a vital tool to break the chain of transmission. With new variants of COVID-19 spreading at a rapid rate all over the world, vaccinating children is the need of the hour, says Birajdar.
