IndiGlobal Media Bureau
Forty lakh children in the age group of 15 to 18 years received Covaxin on Monday as the country started the inoculation drive. Covaxin has got the Emergency Use Approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) which would be administered in two doses at a gap of 28 days.
Schools and educational institutes are to be utilized for vaccinating children in different states. Vaccination centers of government and private hospitals are utilized. The vaccination administered on Day 1 from Government sector across India was huge and registration is continuing on COWIN app. Most of the Government hospitals and many schools have directly taken up vaccination drive in their premises. Due to the pricing in the private sector of Rs 1200 per vaccine, the response has been lukewarm, opined senior doctors to IndiGlobal Media Network.
Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman and Chief of Gastroenterology at Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, Hyderabad: Response on Day 1 has been lukewarm in our hospital. We were expecting a brisk response but the numbers are not very large. We will have to wait for two to three days and observe the impact. With Covaxin only available for vaccination, our recent study is showing that mixing and matching vaccines will give better immunity. For booster or protection doses we suggest that different vaccines must be administered as it will give better protection.
Genome sequencing must be increased as there are Omicron sub-lineages that are being noted. More sequencing will give us a clear picture of the different lineages that the virus is creating and whether it will be mild or severe.
Dr Gayatri Kamineni, Chief Operating Officer at Kamineni Hospitals, Hyderabad What we have seen in adult Covid 19 vaccination, the same is being noted in vaccination for teenagers. There is a hesitancy and we see it also in our medical fraternity. There are very few who have come forward to get vaccinated.
Parents are looking at some protection but they want to wait and watch the vaccination drive and then decide for their children. This could be due to limited data available from the clinical trials. Or like adults after a sizable number are administered, there will be a huge rush.
Dr Ananth N Rao, Assistant Vice-President at IHH Healthcare India, Bengaluru – Thirty-eight lakh children vaccinated on the first day is a good number which shows that acceptance is beginning to develop. For the safety of children, those parents who are coming forward are examples to others that they must not be hesitant. We now have a sizable adult population vaccinated which shows us that vaccines are safe.
Dr Meenakshi Bamalwa Soni, Heart Care Foundation of India, Delhi: The last seropositivity rate in New Delhi was 97 percent which shows that there is a good immunity in the population. Yet the rising cases is a worry due to which parents are not sure whether they should opt for vaccines now as they can get their children exposed. In Delhi, we are not seeing the response that was anticipated for vaccination.
