GUWAHATI: An estimated 70 lakh children in the age group of two to 18 years in Assam will get the Covid vaccine, the state immunization office said on Tuesday.
Though the Center is yet to formally communicate with the state to plan the vaccination of children, Munindra Nath Ngeti, the state nodal officer for covid immunization, told TOI that his office is to vaccinate most children in the school premises itself. making plans. Primary classes, where nearly 50 lakh children are enrolled in Assam, are going to reopen on October 19, as these classes were closed in April due to the second wave.
“Vaccination of children is going to be relatively easy. Children aged two to 15 years are anyway vaccinated under routine immunization and thus we can reach them easily. Also, since all school campuses are reopening soon, the rest can be vaccinated in schools,” Ngeti said. He said that about 80% of the total children to be vaccinated are likely to be tracked in schools. Still, government health facilities will be among the first to offer the vaccine, health department officials said.
Around 12,000 Covid patients in the state are below five years of age, while 55,000 are between six and 18 years. Altogether 67,000 patients are under the age of 18 and this accounts for 11% of the total cases.
“Approval for SEC Administration” Covaxin for children A huge step forward in our fight against COVID-19. It is a matter of great pride that an Indian vaccine has taken this lead and it is a testament to the hard work of our scientists and the vision of PM Narendra Modi,” tweeted CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.
However, before introducing vaccines for children, the health department needs to sensitize the rural population, a large number of whom have always been skeptical about new vaccines. Particularly in the minority area, the health department initially struggled to persuade a large number of villagers to overcome the hesitation of the vaccine.
A few years ago, a large number of students in several government schools in interior areas of minority-populated lower Assam districts such as Kamrup, Nalbari and Barpeta either stopped attending school or were taken away by their parents following social media rumors had gone. Vaccines that can make them sterile. Japanese encephalitis vaccination was accelerated in the state at that time, although schools were not linked in any way.
During the fourth nationwide sero survey for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 published in July, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) detected sero prevalence in children at par with that of adults in Assam. Similar sero prevalence in the range of 39.4% to 52.2% was found in children aged six to 14 years as in adults. It cautioned that apart from high-risk individuals such as elderly people and persons with co-morbidities, children should take extra precautions to prevent infection.
easy parenting
Parents also heaved a sigh of relief because of the development, even as health experts say that the level of immunity in children is better than that of adults to resist the virus.
Juri Konwar, a homemaker in Dhalpur in Upper Assam’s Lakhimpur district, is still unable to send her 10-year-old son to a nearby government school just because her son has not been vaccinated.
He stopped his son from going to the playground last year and locked him in the courtyard of the house. Private tutors are also not allowed to stay in the house for long.
She was not enthused by the state government’s decision to reopen primary schools from October 19, despite the fact that online classes were disrupted on most occasions due to poor internet connectivity in this last lap of the district – not far from the district headquarters .
But as soon as the news of a Covid vaccine for the population below the age of 18 surfaced on TV screens, they were relieved. Just a few weeks back, she had lost her 90-year-old father to Covid.
“Our children’s lives are more important than their academic careers. I would initially prefer online classes, although my son’s physical classes will start from October 19. I cannot send my son to school until he is vaccinated Doesn’t happen,” said the jury.
Amid concerns of a third wave, many health experts and parents feared that the lack of a vaccine could seriously affect children’s health in case of another surge in Covid cases.
But doctors who dealt closely with Covid patients said that most of the children are free from co-morbidities and can survive Covid-19 with a little precaution.
“The natural immunity in children is good as most of them do not have a co-morbid condition. Moreover, parents nowadays almost all bring their children for routine immunization programmes. The Covid vaccine for children will further eliminate the fear of the virus in children,” said Dr Anupal Sarma, Additional Superintendent, Mahendra Mohan Choudhary Hospital, Guwahati.
Dr Achyut Vaish, Principal, Gauhati Medical College Hospital, said that the children rarely show any post-Covid complications. “Once the children are cured of Covid, they are in good health,” he said.
Though the Center is yet to formally communicate with the state to plan the vaccination of children, Munindra Nath Ngeti, the state nodal officer for covid immunization, told TOI that his office is to vaccinate most children in the school premises itself. making plans. Primary classes, where nearly 50 lakh children are enrolled in Assam, are going to reopen on October 19, as these classes were closed in April due to the second wave.
“Vaccination of children is going to be relatively easy. Children aged two to 15 years are anyway vaccinated under routine immunization and thus we can reach them easily. Also, since all school campuses are reopening soon, the rest can be vaccinated in schools,” Ngeti said. He said that about 80% of the total children to be vaccinated are likely to be tracked in schools. Still, government health facilities will be among the first to offer the vaccine, health department officials said.
Around 12,000 Covid patients in the state are below five years of age, while 55,000 are between six and 18 years. Altogether 67,000 patients are under the age of 18 and this accounts for 11% of the total cases.
“Approval for SEC Administration” Covaxin for children A huge step forward in our fight against COVID-19. It is a matter of great pride that an Indian vaccine has taken this lead and it is a testament to the hard work of our scientists and the vision of PM Narendra Modi,” tweeted CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.
However, before introducing vaccines for children, the health department needs to sensitize the rural population, a large number of whom have always been skeptical about new vaccines. Particularly in the minority area, the health department initially struggled to persuade a large number of villagers to overcome the hesitation of the vaccine.
A few years ago, a large number of students in several government schools in interior areas of minority-populated lower Assam districts such as Kamrup, Nalbari and Barpeta either stopped attending school or were taken away by their parents following social media rumors had gone. Vaccines that can make them sterile. Japanese encephalitis vaccination was accelerated in the state at that time, although schools were not linked in any way.
During the fourth nationwide sero survey for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 published in July, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) detected sero prevalence in children at par with that of adults in Assam. Similar sero prevalence in the range of 39.4% to 52.2% was found in children aged six to 14 years as in adults. It cautioned that apart from high-risk individuals such as elderly people and persons with co-morbidities, children should take extra precautions to prevent infection.
easy parenting
Parents also heaved a sigh of relief because of the development, even as health experts say that the level of immunity in children is better than that of adults to resist the virus.
Juri Konwar, a homemaker in Dhalpur in Upper Assam’s Lakhimpur district, is still unable to send her 10-year-old son to a nearby government school just because her son has not been vaccinated.
He stopped his son from going to the playground last year and locked him in the courtyard of the house. Private tutors are also not allowed to stay in the house for long.
She was not enthused by the state government’s decision to reopen primary schools from October 19, despite the fact that online classes were disrupted on most occasions due to poor internet connectivity in this last lap of the district – not far from the district headquarters .
But as soon as the news of a Covid vaccine for the population below the age of 18 surfaced on TV screens, they were relieved. Just a few weeks back, she had lost her 90-year-old father to Covid.
“Our children’s lives are more important than their academic careers. I would initially prefer online classes, although my son’s physical classes will start from October 19. I cannot send my son to school until he is vaccinated Doesn’t happen,” said the jury.
Amid concerns of a third wave, many health experts and parents feared that the lack of a vaccine could seriously affect children’s health in case of another surge in Covid cases.
But doctors who dealt closely with Covid patients said that most of the children are free from co-morbidities and can survive Covid-19 with a little precaution.
“The natural immunity in children is good as most of them do not have a co-morbid condition. Moreover, parents nowadays almost all bring their children for routine immunization programmes. The Covid vaccine for children will further eliminate the fear of the virus in children,” said Dr Anupal Sarma, Additional Superintendent, Mahendra Mohan Choudhary Hospital, Guwahati.
Dr Achyut Vaish, Principal, Gauhati Medical College Hospital, said that the children rarely show any post-Covid complications. “Once the children are cured of Covid, they are in good health,” he said.
.