Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced launching of COVID vaccine for children between age 15 to 18 from January 3 and "precaution dose" for frontline and healthcare workers and for those above 60 years and above with co-morbidities from January 10.
The prime minister made the announcement in his address to the nation late Sunday. He also assured that soon India will develop nasal vaccine and the world’s first DNA vaccine.
The administration of Covid vaccine for children in India is likely to aid in education normalization in schools and ease the worries of parents with school going children, he said.
The precaution dose for healthcare and frontline workers has been decided in view of the amount of time the frontline and healthcare workers spend in the service of Covid patients, the prime minister said, adding that “in India, this has been called ‘precaution dose’ not booster dose”.
The decision of “precaution dose” will strengthen the confidence of healthcare and frontline workers, he said. The option of precaution dose will be available for senior citizens above 60 years of age with co-morbidities on the advice of their doctors from January 10, 2022, he added.
Amid the reports of surging Omicron infections in India, Modi requested the people to follow precautions such as masks and frequent washing of hands.
“Following all guidelines is the biggest weapons in the fight against Corona. Second weapon is vaccination,” he said.
Pointing out that the vaccination campaign which started on January 16, 2021 has crossed the mark of 141 crore doses, Modi credited the collective efforts of the citizens, scientists and health workers and doctors for the success.
“The seriousness of vaccine was identified very early and along with research on vaccine, work was focussed on approval process, supply chain, distribution, training, IT support system and certification. Due to these efforts, 61 per cent of the adult population of the country has received both the vaccines and 90 per cent adults have received the first dose,” he said.
Today the country has 18 lakh isolation beds, five lakh oxygen supported beds, 1 lakh 40 thousand ICU beds, 90 thousand ICU and Non ICU beds specially for children, more than 3 thousand PSA oxygen plants, 4 lakh oxygen cylinders and support to states is being provided for buffer doses and testing, he said.
Emphasizing that India’s fight against Corona has, from the very beginning, based on scientific principles, scientific consultation and scientific method, he cautioned that Coronavirus has not gone and alertness is of paramount importance. He also cautioned against spreading rumours, confusion and fear about the disease.
