Teens can register for Covid vaccines from January 1, use class 10 ID card

Children aged between 15 and 18 can register for COVID-19 vaccines on the CoWIN app starting January 1, by using their school ID cards; the government said Monday morning.

CoWIN chief Dr RS Sharma told the ANI news agency that additional space had been created on the online platform for students to use their ID cards to register for vaccinations.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that children in the 15-18 age group could receive their first round of Covid vaccines starting on January 3.

The Prime Minister also announced booster shots for healthcare and frontline workers and adults over 60. In addition, vaccinating children - something other countries have already done - will help students return to regular schools.

Children in India are to be vaccinated with two injections, either Bharat Biotech double dose Covaxin or Zydus Cadila three-dose ZyCoV-D, both approved for children above 12 years.

The drug controller has licensed Novavax from the Serum Institute for trials in children ages seven to 11, and Corbevax from Biological E has been licensed for trials in children older than five years.

Neither Novavax nor Corbevax has been authorized for use so far. India is behind several other countries, including many in Europe, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand, in offering Covid vaccines for children.

The decision of starting vaccinating children comes amid an alarming rise in Covid cases in schools.

On Saturday, 17 girls from a school in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district tested positive.

Earlier this week, 51 children at a school in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, tested positive, after which 450 others were also tested, and their results were awaited.

Last week, a school in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru district was closed after 10 students and a teacher also tested positive. Before that, 69 people, including 59 students, tested positive at the same school. Earlier this month, at a Mumbai school 18 students also tested positive.

However, the decision has met with mixed responses, with some, including parents, expressing concern about possible side effects in younger recipients.

India, so far, has administered vaccine doses of 141.7 million rupees, but only 58.1 million rupees is the second dose.

More than 6,500 new cases of COVID-19 were reported this morning in the past 24 hours, a 6.5 percent drop from yesterday. However, a massive 37 percent increase in Omicron Covid cases rose from 422 on Sunday to 578 this morning.