Availability of vaccines, public interest to play a major role: Expert on Covid vaccination drive for teens

Experts believe that the availability of vaccines and public interest are among the factors that will determine the success of the immunization drive for the 15-18 age group that began on Monday.

New Delhi:Asthe COVID-19 vaccination drive for beneficiaries in the 15-18 age group commenced from Monday across the country amid a scare of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, experts believe that the availability of vaccines and public interest are among the major factors that will determine the success of the immunization drive for teenagers.

The Government has granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) to indigenously-developed Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for children between 15 and 18 years. "Only Covaxin has been approved for use among those below 18 years. 18+ are eligible for all vaccines, including Covishield. Those born in 2005, 2006, 2007 are eligible only for Covaxin. Validations have been put in place in Co-WIN," said Vikas Sheel, joint secretary in the Health Ministry.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Dr Tamorish Kole hailed the Government's decision to vaccinate teenagers in the 15-18 age group. "I think the availability of Covid-19 vaccines and public interest will play a crucial role in determining the success of the immunization drive for teenagers," said Kole.

Availability of vaccines and vaccine hesitancy were the major challenges during the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive for adults rolled out by the government last year.

According to Health Ministry statistics, there are 7,40,57,000 teenagers in the 15-18 year age group who are eligible for the Covid-19 vaccination.