As Covid-19 cases skyrocket in India, the government has begun to impose
stringent restrictions and issue necessary guidelines. Along with lockdowns and
night curfews, new booster guidelines have been issued for frontline workers,
the elderly and children. Children in the 15-18 age group will be able to
receive the booster dose of Covaxin starting today.

In
an interview with India.com, Dr Farah Ingale, director of internal medicine at
Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, shed light on why the booster dose is only suited
for children in the 15-18 age group.

According
to her, this age group is more exposed to the virus, unlike younger kids who
mostly stay confined at home. Along with that, mortality rates for the 15-18
age group remain high, making it a crucial target for immunization.

Also Read: All about India’s vaccination program for children aged 15-18 years

While
many of the younger ages can be asymptomatic, having this age group inoculated
is necessary to avoid the spread of the infection among older individuals.

Although
other vaccines such as the ZyCov-D are suitable for children, the Indian
government is yet to approve them.

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Ingale
further added that Covaxin might be the best vaccine choice, as the indigenous
vaccine belongs to the virion group of vaccines that are known to be
well-suited for mutating viruses and their variants.

Although
Covaxin seems to be a wise choice, Ingale added due to the novelty of the virus
and its variants, it was tricky to declare which vaccine would be the most
effective choice.

Ingale
said there was no hidden agenda in having the 15-18 age group vaccinated and
added that the step was simply necessary, given the fact that many children had
either succumbed to the infection in the past months or had acquired the
increased ability to transmit the infection to others.

The country has lately had an alarming surge of new cases, with the
capital recording 4,099 new cases on Monday.