New Delhi: A leading private healthcare group on Monday said it will provide COVID-19 jabs for free to children with "specified co-morbidities", even as the Centre is yet to announce its approval to it.
Apollo Hospitals, in a statement, said, however, it is an "indicative list" and the "final list of co-morbidities eligible for free vaccination would be as per the list published by the government". Zydus Cadila's Covid vaccine ZyCoV-D has already received Emergency Use Authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) in the country and will be administered to those aged 12 years and above. It is yet to be introduced in the nationwide Covid vaccination programme.
As for the emergency use approval for Bharat Biotech's Covaxin in the 2-18 years age group by the DCGI, it is under expert evaluation, official sources had earlier said. On October 12, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the central drug authority had recommended granting Emergency Use Authorisation to Covaxin for children and adolescents in the 2-18 years age group with certain conditions.
Apollo Hospitals sources on Monday claimed that the list of co-morbidities announced by the group on Monday was prepared "after consulting with the government". "It is anticipated that approval will soon be granted for vaccinating children with specified co-morbidities and immediately post-approval, and details of the age-group permitted for vaccination, the free vaccination initiative would be launched by Apollo Hospitals across its units," the statement said. "The list is expected to include children with haematological, neurological, cardiac, liver, gastrointestinal, rheumatic, cancer, respiratory, genitourinary and developmental disorders," it said. Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, "Adults have been the focus of vaccination till now as by and large, children have been spared from severe Covid infection.