Of the estimated 7.4 crore (7,40,57,000) population in the 15-18 age bracket, over 3.45 crore have received the first dose of Covaxin so far and their second dose is due in 28 days, he said.
The Union health ministry on Wednesday dismissed media reports claiming there was dissent from technical experts about increasing the gap between two Covishield doses and said the decision was based on scientific reason about the behaviour of adenovector vaccines.
'The key purpose of vaccination is to prevent hospitalisation, severe disease, and death.' 'All vaccines work equally, although mild disease cannot be prevented.'
According to officials, an additional dose of vaccine is different from a booster dose.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs that Covid vaccination for children is likely to start soon, sources said.
The gap between second dose of COVID-19 vaccine and the third, which is being called a 'precaution dose,' is likely to be nine to 12 months, official sources said on Sunday.
He explained, "Children between the age of 12 and 18 years, particularly those in the age group of 15 to 18 years, are very much like adults. Our research within the country also says that almost two-thirds of the deaths below 18 years which occurred due to COVID in India are within this age group. So, this decision was mainly taken to protect the adolescents."
In the major Indian cities, the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is accounting for more than 50 per cent of the fresh cases of the infection and the massive surge in the number of cases over the last one week is indicative of a third wave of the pandemic, as is being witnessed in several countries, Dr N K Arora, chairman of the COVID-19 working group of the NTAGI, said on Tuesday.
'The protective effect of the vaccine lasts for about nine months to a year.' 'For health workers that period is already over. This is the right time to augment their immunity.'
Not enough data has been generated locally to decide on the need for a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine for those fully inoculated, say experts amid the possibility of a third wave of the viral disease hitting the country between September and October.
'Antibodies remain in the blood for at least seven to nine months.'
The Delta plus variant of COVID-19 has greater affinity to lung tissues as compared to other strains but it does not mean that it will cause severe disease or is more transmissible, head of coronavirus working group National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) Dr N K Arora said.
Arora, who is Director of INCLEN Trust, said it is not possible to predict any third wave at this time.
'There is no emergency of a third wave that we are rushing for booster doses.'
Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech have also stopped producing the Covishield and Covaxin vaccines respectively.
Stressing on the need to protect both lives and livelihoods, he said public health action in India and across the world must be continually guided by evidence from four key questions -- how transmissible is the variant, severity of the disease it causes, how well vaccines and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection protect and how common people perceive risk and follow control measures.
Experts emphasise on the need to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus using strategic and pragmatic approaches in villages as well as Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and towns, which are reporting increased COVID-19 infections and deaths during the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision to increase the gap between two doses of Covishield from 4-6 weeks to 12-16 weeks was based on scientific decision and there was no dissenting voice among the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation members.
The NTAGI has also stated that those having laboratory test proven SARS-CoV-2 illness should defer COVID-19 vaccination for six months after recovery, the sources said.
The reason is that because of the hybrid immunity after three waves of natural infection and a large proportion of adults receiving both doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the susceptible pool has come down drastically, Lahariya said.
The aim of the mission is to accelerate the development of at least six vaccine candidates and ensure that they are licenced and introduced in market for emergency use at the earliest.
Cautioning that the country is passing through a phase when there are festivals and potential gatherings, he said this is a critical phase as the virus can spread again.
Women are great team players and collaborators, 'but they don't put themselves forward,' Dr Gagandeep Kang, the first Indian woman scientist to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, tells Veenu Sandhu.
'Prevention plus vaccination is what is going to take us into better territory by September or October.'
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