THE COVID-19 standing committee of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), comprising top scientific experts, has begun discussions on key aspects of a possible roll-out of Covid vaccination for children, The Indian Express has learnt.
Top government sources told The Indian Express that the standing committee of the NTAGI, which comprises experts from premier medical institutions, including AIIMS and ICMR, will be in a position to submit its final recommendation in the next 10-15 days to the high-powered National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVEC).
The NEGVEC, which is chaired by Dr V K Paul and co-chaired Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, will be taking the final decision on the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccination for children in the country. “Once their [NTAGI panel] recommendations are finalised, the NEGVEC will take a decision on their recommendations,” a source said.
Significantly, the scientific discussions related to roll-out of Covid-19 vaccination for children come days after the Indian drug regulator granted emergency use authorisation of Zydus Cadila’s DNA vaccine, which has been approved for children aged above 12.
While the NEGVAC will take a final call on the roll-out, prioritisation and logistics-related vaccination of children, sources said that Zydus Cadila has informed the government that its vaccine will arrive in October and that it aims to produce one crore doses in the first month.
NTAGI is India’s apex advisory body on immunization, which provides guidance to the government on vaccination by undertaking technical reviews of scientific evidence on matters related to immunization policy and programmes.
