Vaccines for kids

THE national drug regulator has granted emergency use authorisation for Covid-19 vaccine Corbevax for children aged five to 12 years and Covaxin for those six to 12 years old. Coming on the heels of schools opening at full throttle in the physical mode after two years of online classes, the green-lighting of the shots should come as a relief to the parents and school managements. The inoculation holds the promise of keeping the kids, enclosed together in classrooms, shielded from the risk and severity of infection. It is vital to keep schools safe and check the disruption that has interrupted learning for lakhs of students.

In addition, there has been a gradual uptick in the number of Covid cases in the country in the past couple of weeks, prompting certain administrations, like that of Chandigarh, to tilt in favour of making vaccination mandatory for the schoolchildren. The Prime Minister on Wednesday stated that the threat of Covid had not fully gone. This scenario suggests that the right time for taking the immunity-building dose is now. However, the absence of clear data regarding the efficacy or long-term effects of the two vaccines does not inspire enough confidence among the parents. The elders’ hesitancy is already all too evident as there have been few takers for the booster shot that was rolled out for the adults about a month back in private clinics for a price. Their resistance is, to a large extent, attributed to the non-availability of vaccines free of cost. In this matter, Haryana has been quick to sense the prevailing mood. The other states must follow its lead of providing the third dose free of cost at government facilities.

The authorities must back the vaccine policy with confidence-boosting measures and address people’s concerns. Incidentally, Zydus Cadila’s ZyCovD dose that was cleared for emergency use administration to those over 12 years has been lying unused as the authorities have failed to secure needle-free applicators. When it comes to children, the parents are least willing to take chances. And, rightly so.