Karnataka advised to vaccinate 17-year-olds first after children's vaccine rollout

The state government was also advised to identify comorbid children in the 16-17 age group at the earliest

Once vaccinations for those aged between the age of 12- to 18-year-olds is given the green light, Karnataka is likely to vaccinate 16 and 17-year-olds first.

A member of the state's Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) told by The New Indian Express. that they had recommended higher-aged children be given the vaccine first, followed by children under 16 years of age. The committee also recommended identifying co-morbid children in the 16-17 age group at the earliest.

Also Read | Why is Centre being extra cautious before starting Covid vaccine drive for children?

Two vaccines — Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D and Bharat Bioech's Covaxin — are likely to be included in India's vaccination program for children soon. While ZyCoV-D received Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the Drugs Controller General of India in August, Covaxin was recommended by the Subject Expert Committee close to a week ago.

Karnataka has so far vaccinated 66.76 per cent of its adult population with the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and 33.23 per cent of its adult vaccination has received the second dose.

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