Indian pharmaceutical company Zydus Cadila will soon complete trials for vaccines against COVID-19 for children of age group 12-18 years and the shots are likely to be available by July-end or August, Centre’s expert panel chief said on Sunday.
“Trial for Zydus Cadila vaccine is almost complete. By July end or in August, we might be able to start administering this vaccine to children of 12-18 age group,” news agency ANI quoted Dr NK Arora, Chairman, COVID working group, as saying.
Further, citing an ICMR study, he said the country has 6 to 8 months to inoculate its people before the third wave hits. “ICMR has come up with a study which says 3rd wave is likely to come late. We’ve window period of 6-8 months to immunise everybody in country. In coming days, our target is to administer 1 crore doses every day,” he said.
The Union Health Ministry on Saturday informed the Supreme Court that the new vaccine developed by Zydus Cadila will soon be available for inoculation for the 12-18 years of age bracket. It said the government was aiming towards ‘vaccination-for-all’ by December this year.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare filed a 375-page affidavit in response to a slew of questions raised by the apex court in its May 31 order while hearing the suo motu case related to Covid management in the country. The government said it has been reviewing its vaccination policy dynamically since May this year.
The total population of the country aged 18 years and above is approximately 93-94 crore. Administering two doses to these beneficiaries would require an estimated 186 to 188 crore vaccine doses.
The Centre said it is making the necessary arrangements for the required doses. It also provided the cost break-up of the vaccines in its affidavit. According to the document, approximately Rs 10,000 crore has been spent/allocated for vaccine procurement, so far.
The Centre told the apex court that a poor person and a multi-millionaire in the age group of 18 years and above are equally entitled to get the Covid vaccine free of cost and every effort is being made to ensure access of “safe and effective” ones at the earliest in the country.
A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud had slammed the Centre’s Covid vaccination policy, describing as “prima facie arbitrary and irrational” allowing states and private hospitals to charge those in the 18-44 age group while the jabs were offered free for groups in the first two phases, and ordered its review.
Seeking to scrutinise the Covid vaccination policy in detail, the top court had also asked the Centre to provide information including as to how Rs 35,000 crore, earmarked for vaccines, has been spent so far, and to place on record all relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking culminating in the policy.
Bringing the revised “Covid-19 Vaccine Operational Guidelines” on the record, the Centre’s reply affidavit said, “Under the revised guidelines, government of India will procure vaccine and supply free of cost to the states/ UTs to vaccinate all persons above 18 years of age from 21.06.2021 and this will ensure that 18-44 years persons will also receive free vaccine from government Covid vaccination centres.”
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