India will begin vaccinating 12-14-year-olds by March of this year, Dr NK Arora told India Today. A renowned public health expert, Dr Arora is chairman of the central government’s COVID-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on December 25 that the country will begin vaccinating teenagers in the 15-18 age group starting January 3.
In a tweet on Sunday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said over 3.5 crore teens in the 15-18 age group have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccines.
At present, two Covid-19 vaccines have the central government’s approval for young adults (12 and above) – Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D.
Meanwhile, healthcare and frontline workers across the country are being administered a ‘precautionary dose”(booster dose) of Covid-19 vaccines.
Those aged 60 and above with comorbidities are also eligible to receive a ‘precautionary dose’.
The central government, in an affidavit before the Supreme Court, has said: “The Covid-19 vaccination is for larger public interest in light of the ongoing pandemic situation.
