As India is expecting the inevitable third wave of coronavirus, authorities in the nation are trying hard to pace the vaccination rollout in the country. The government has already rollout the vaccination campaigns for all Indian citizens above the age of 18, but until now, there is no information regarding the vaccination of children. And now, AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria has revealed that India is likely to start the vaccination of children from September.
A vital move to break the chain of transmission
In an exclusive talk with NDTV, Guleria told that vaccinating children is a very crucial move to break the chain of transmission.
"I think Zydus has already done the trials and they're waiting for the emergency authorization. The Bharat Biotech's Covaxin trials should be over by August or September, and by that time we should get approval. Pfizer vaccine has been already approved by the FDA (US regulator - Food and Drug Administration). Hopefully, by September, we should start vaccinating children, and that will be a big boost as far as breaking the chain of transmission is concerned,," said Guleria.
Progress of vaccination rollout in India
According to the latest updates, India has vaccinated over 6 percent of its total population. The central government is planning to vaccinate all the citizens in the nation by the end of this year. However, states like Kerala have shown a rising trend in new coronavirus cases, which hints at the fact that the third wave of the pandemic in the country has begun.
Several recent studies, including the one published earlier this week by The Lancet, had suggested that vaccinating children is a crucial phase in humanity's fight against the Covid pandemic. According to the Lancet study, living with children aged between 11 and 17 years will increase the risk of infection by 18 to 30 percent.
Guleria also highlighted this fact, and said, "Vulnerable people - the elderly or those having illnesses - are at an increased risk of getting the infection. That's one of the reasons why people are worried about children going to school... they may get a mild infection but they may pass it to their grandparents. We need more data but this is something that has been shown even with influenza."
