Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of some measures to extend vaccination coverage to more sections and numbers of people has been welcomed, especially because there is a spurt in Covid cases in the past few days. More numbers of Omicron cases are also being reported. The PM announced that healthcare and frontline workers and those over 60 with comorbidities would be eligible for their ‘precaution’ or third dose of vaccine from January 10. Vaccinations were also opened up for adolescents in the 15-18 age group, and these will start from Monday. Almost simultaneously with the Prime Minister’s announcement, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGA) cleared the approval of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children above 12 years, subject to some conditions.
There has been increasing demand for a booster dose of vaccines in the light of the assumption that the immunity gained from the earlier doses may have waned. The demand for vaccination of children gained strength after the reopening of schools. While all vulnerable sections of the population need to be protected, there are reasons to wonder whether all relevant factors were taken into consideration when the decision to extend the vaccination programme was taken.
The ‘precautionary’ doses for elders and the programme for adolescents will hopefully not affect the availability of vaccines for the general population, which should still get the top-most priority. Over 40 per cent of the eligible adults are yet to get the second dose and over 10 per cent have not got a single dose. Glitches in vaccine production have not been completely removed. Covaxin production is still below the expected level and it is not known when the newly approved vaccines will be available.
A day before the Prime Minister’s announcement, the Union Health Secretary and the ICMR Director had stated that no decision had been taken on vaccination of children and booster doses for senior citizens. Technical and other issues like how long the vaccination-induced immunity would last, which vaccine should be used as the booster, and how effective the vaccines would be against Omicron, were yet to be settled.
That is why the Prime Minister’s announcement on vaccination for adolescents came as a surprise. Some experts have questioned its usefulness and have described it as unscientific. It is also not known why only the young in the 15-18 age group would be eligible for vaccination while the government’s technical committee had approved it for all children above 12. While all needy and vulnerable demographic groups should get the vaccination, the main aim of the programme should be speedy and early coverage of the general population and reduction of deaths and hospitalisation. The vulnerability of particular sections of the population will increase if the general population remains vulnerable.
Watch latest videos by DH here: