'New Covid variant emerging', experts advise caution

New Delhi, March 15

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India will begin inoculating children in the 12-14 age group from Wednesday, with top national experts saying that a new Covid variant, a mix of Delta and Omicron, was emerging and that it was too soon to say the pandemic was over.

Guidelines issued

• Children can register through an existing CoWIN account of a family member
• If not, they can create a new account through a unique mobile number
• Appointments can be booked online or onsite

“We are hearing of a new variant, a mixture of Delta and Omicron. The decision to vaccinate 12 to 14-year-old children is significant because Covid cases are again rising in China. There is no room for laxity. It is too soon to say the pandemic is over,” NK Arora, Chairman, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, which guides the government on vaccination strategies, said today.

He further said that even the WHO had advised nations to inoculate children if the majority of adults had been covered and ample vaccines were available.

“Moreover, the likelihood of death among children suffering from comorbidities is seven times more as compared with adults,” Arora noted.