DNA Special: All you need to know about Covid-19 vaccines available for children

This news brings relief to every family in the country. Now, children above 5 years of age will also be given coronavirus vaccine in the entire country. Till now, children above the age of 12 years were getting the protection of the vaccine, but now children from 5 to 12 years will also be vaccinated against Covid.

Crores of families in the country were waiting for vaccination for young children. And now that good news has come. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced this today in his tweet.

In view of the threat of the fourth wave of Covid-19, vaccination of children had become very necessary. It was feared that children could also be vulnerable to the pandemic. So, millions of families in the country want the protection of the vaccine for their children. Schools have also opened in most cities and villages, so the need for vaccination of children has increased further. There will be 3 vaccines available for children soon. We elaborate on which vaccines these are.

These are the three vaccines... Corbevax, Covaxin, and Zycov-D. Of these, Corbevax will be administered to children between the ages of 5 and 15. The Vaccine will be for children above 6 years of age, while the Zycov-D vaccine will protect children above 12 years of age.

If a child in your family is between the ages of 5 and 6 years, then he can only be given Corbevax. If the child is between 6 and 12 years of age, he can be given Corbevax or Covaxin. And if the child is over 12 years of age, then you will have the option of 3 vaccines - Corbevax, Covaxin or Zycov-D. That is, according to the age of the child, you have many options to get vaccinated.

There will be many questions in your mind about the vaccination of children. You would like to know how many doses of which vaccine will be administered? Where will this vaccine be administered and is it free or will you have to pay for it? If you have this information, it will be easier for you to choose a vaccine for your children. We will give you information about all the three vaccines one by one.

READ | DNA Explainer: What we know so far about mystery liver disease affecting children

Corbevax

Corbevax is an indigenous vaccine, which has been developed by Hyderabad-based company Biological-E Limited. Two doses of Corbevax will be administered. There will be a gap of 28 days between them.

Corbevax is considered a vaccine with very few side effects. It's safe for kids. The vaccine will be administered free of cost in government hospitals, though private hospitals can charge for it.

In March this year, Corbevax was approved for children in the age group of 12 to 15. Now this vaccine can also be given to children above 5 years of age.

.

Covaxin

Covaxin is also an indigenous vaccine. It has been prepared by Bharat Biotech. Children above 6 years of age will be given two doses of it, a gap of 28 to 40 days between them.

This vaccine is also safe and effective for children. If you get this vaccine in a government hospital, you will not have to pay a single penny, but in a private hospital you will have to pay the price. 

Zycov-D

The Zycov-D vaccine will be administered to children above 12 years of age. It's different from the other vaccine. The rest of the vaccine is through a syringe, while the help of Pharma Jet Applicator will be taken to install Zycov-D. This will cause much less pain to the vaccinated person.

Many children are afraid of needles. The fear of such children could be overcome with the Zycov-D vaccine. Zycov-D vaccine will also be given 2 doses. The second dose will be given 28 days after the first dose.

Critical year for vaccinating children

This year is very important in terms of vaccination of children in the country. On January 3, 2022, the vaccination of children between the ages of 15 and 18 began. On March 16, 2022, the campaign to vaccinate children above the age of 12 began. And today, on April 26, 2022, the vaccine was also approved for children between 5 years and 12 years

With the approval of these vaccines, crores of children in the country will get a protective shield. At present, there are more than 20 crore children in the age group of 5 to 12 years in the country. There are more than 175 million children in the age group of 6 to 12 years. Now these children will also be vaccinated. And they will also be able to combat corona in a much better way.

In the fight against Covid-19, the country is moving forward very fast and strongly. The pace and scope of vaccination in India is even better than many developed countries in the world. More than 80 crore adults have been administered both doses of the vaccine in the country so far. More than 40 million children in the age group of 15 to 18 years have been fully vaccinated. Over 37 lakh children in the age group of 12 to 15 years have been given both doses of the vaccine. Apart from this, more than 2 crore 69 lakh people have also been given booster doses.

READ | DNA Explainer: Why experts say there is no urgency to vaccinate children

A total of over 1.87 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered in India. This figure is more than the population of one hundred and fifty countries small and big in the world. And this data of vaccination is increasing every minute.

Medical experts believe that in any wave of the epidemic, the greatest danger is to those who have not been vaccinated. Children between the ages of 5 and 12 were in this circle. Generally, the immunity of young children is better than that of older people. However, there was a fear among the people that what would happen if their children got infected with corona or if a dangerous variant spread. Now, their worries will go away too.