BENGALURU: Once approvals for Covid vaccines for children come through, the Karnataka government is likely to start vaccinating kids in the age group of 16-17 first. As two vaccines for children — ZyCovD from Zydus Cadila and Covaxin — are getting notified, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) advised the state government to start planning and make preparations for rolling out the vaccines.
“We have recommended starting the vaccination from higher ages that is 17, and then covering other lower-aged children. Also, children with comorbidities should be vaccinated on priority,” said Dr CN Manjunath, Director, Jayadeva Hospital, who is also a member of the TAC.
TAC experts opined that as the number of doses available initially will be limited, it is better to follow the pattern adopted while vaccinating adults.
Identify comorbid kids: TAC
LIKE with adults, where senior citizens and people with comorbidities were vaccinated first, older paediatric population of 17 years and children with comorbidities should be identified and prioritised for the jabs, they said. TAC members also stressed the need to identify comorbid children across the state and to microplan the vaccination process.
“Paediatricians, head nurses, ASHA workers etc should be roped in at the planning stages. Field experience and microplanning from MR vaccination campaign shall be adopted once guidelines and approvals come,” Dr Manjunath added. TAC members also discussed the issue faced by private hospitals over the high price of ZyCoV-D vaccine.