Covid vaccination for 12-14 age group likely to start by March: NTAGI chief

New Delhi: India may begin inoculating children in the 12-14 age group against Covid in March as the 15-18 population is likely to get fully vaccinated by then, Dr N K Arora, chairman of the Covid working group of NTAGI, said on Monday.

Of the estimated 7.4 crore (7,40,57,000) population in the 15-18 age bracket, over 3.45 crore have received the first dose of Covaxin so far and their second dose is due in 28 days, he said.

"Adolescents in this age group have been actively participating in the inoculation process, and going by this pace of vaccination, the rest of the beneficiaries in the 15-18 age group are likely to be covered with the first dose by January-end and subsequently their second dose is expected to be done by February-end," said the Chairman of the Covid working group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).

Once the 15-18 age group is covered, he said, the government is likely to take a policy decision for initiating the vaccination drive for the 12-14 age group in March, Dr Arora said. According to him, there is an estimated 7.5 crore population in the 12-14 age group.

India's cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 157.91 crore doses with over 68 lakh shots being administered on Monday, the Union Health ministry said. The daily vaccination tally is likely to go up when the final numbers for the day are compiled by late night.

According to government data, over 3.45 crore first doses have been given to children in the 15-18 years age group so far. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started on February 2, 2021.

The next phase of vaccination commenced from March 1 last year for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1, 2021. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.

The next phase of Covid vaccination began on January 3 this year for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.

India began administering the precaution dose — the third jab of COVID-19 vaccine — to healthcare, frontline workers, including personnel deployed for election duty and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10 amid the country witnessing a spike in infections, driven mainly by the Omicron variant.

Covid inoculation guidelines issued by the Union Health ministry do not envisage forcible vaccination without obtaining the consent of an individual, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.

"...A total of 23,768 doses have been administered to disabled persons who have voluntarily chosen to be identified as such by using their Unique Disability ID Card/Disability Certificate for registration at the time of their vaccination," it said.

On the issue of exempting persons with disabilities from producing vaccination certificates, the Centre told the top court that it has not issued any SOP that makes it mandatory to carry the vaccination certificate for any purpose.

The Centre said this in its affidavit filed in response to a plea by NGO Evara Foundation seeking door-to-door, priority COVID-19 vaccination for persons with disabilities.

"It is submitted that vaccination for COVID-19 is of larger public interest in view of the ongoing pandemic situation," the affidavit filed by the Health ministry said. It added that "it is duly advised, advertised and communicated through various print and social media platforms that all citizens should get vaccinated and systems and processes have been designed to facilitate the same."

"However, no person can be forced to be vaccinated against their wishes," it said.