Children between 15 and 17 can register for Covid-19 vaccine on the CoWIN app from January 1 using their school ID cards as an age proof, the government said Monday morning.
While it was expected that beneficiaries would get to choose between Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D, till now only the former has been included in the drive.
Meanwhile, healthcare and frontline workers with co-morbidities will only be eligible for the booster dose if they were vaccinated nine months earlier, he said, adding that the list of co-morbidities remains the same as before.
CoWIN chief Dr RS Sharma has said that an additional slot 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.
The announcement for children came just hours after the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Saturday gave Bharat Biotech approval for emergency use authorisation of Covaxin Covid-19 vaccine for children in the 12-18 years age group. The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) had recommended DCGI to grant emergency use to Covaxin for children.
While the demand for the booster doses was being raised amid the outbreak of the Omicron variant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s scientific community takes decisions only after a thorough examination.
Amid the rising number of cases in the country, the prime minister said people must not panic and should continue following Covid protocol. “In India, many people have been found to be infected with Omicron. I would urge all of you not to panic, be careful and alert. Remember to wash hands and mask,” he said.
A nasal vaccine and the world’s first DNA vaccine against Covid will soon start in India, the prime minister added.
The beginning of a new vaccination phase from January 2022 will complete a year of India’s vaccination journey as the inoculation drive against Covid-19 began on January 16, 2021. Frontline workers and senior citizens with severe illness were the priority groups of the vaccination drive as well.
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