New Delhi: In a major announcement on vaccination for children against COVID-19 amid the Omicron threat, PM Modi said inoculation of those in the age group of 15-18 years will begin from January 3, 2022. PM Modi said this in his address to the nation on Saturday night. PM also announced booster dose for frontline workers, those above 60 with illnesses from January 10.
PM’s announcement came soon after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted emergency use authorisation to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children above 12 years with certain conditions, reported news agencies on Saturday. The Subject Expert Committee on COVID-19 of the CDSCO on October 12 after deliberating Bharat Biotech’s EUA application had recommended granting emergency use approval to Covaxin for use in the 12-18 years age group with certain conditions.
“The recommendations of the SEC were evaluated by another experts committee after which DCGI had sought additional data from the firm,” a source said. The DCGI gave its approval on Friday, the source said.
(With agency inputs)
