The health ministry's guidelines says Covaxin is the “only vaccine with WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for the age-group 15-18”. This is incorrect. WHO has granted Emergency Use Listing for Covaxin for use in adults 18 years and above only. On December 25, 2021 Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that adolescents aged 15-17 years will … Continue reading Does Covaxin have WHO’s approval for use in children?
Children
India widens the vaccine safety net by immunising teenagers above 15 years
Covaxin was found to be safe and immunogenic in teenagers during a phase-2/3 clinical trial; only 175 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years were studied. The data of the trial, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, were posted on a preprint server on December 29. Nearly a year after the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for … Continue reading India widens the vaccine safety net by immunising teenagers above 15 years
Should healthy children be vaccinated on priority?
Scientists in India are divided over the issue of whether young, healthy children need to be vaccinated in the absence of data showing their risk of suffering from severe disease or death. While there are certain advantages of vaccinating as many people as possible, including young, healthy children, will targeting them result in adults, who … Continue reading Should healthy children be vaccinated on priority?
Why three Nordic countries have suspended Moderna vaccine
On October 6, Sweden and Denmark, followed by Finland a day later, suspended the use of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine for younger age groups after reports pointed to an increase in the number of myocarditis and pericarditis cases. Why three Nordic countries have suspended Moderna vaccine. On October 6, Sweden and Denmark suspended the use of … Continue reading Why three Nordic countries have suspended Moderna vaccine
Government passes off factually incorrect vaccination information as ‘fact’
While Dr. Vinod Paul, Chair of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19, said no country is vaccinating children, the U.S. has been vaccinating children older than 16 years since April 20. On May 10, the FDA authorised Pfizer vaccine in children 12-15 years, and five other countries too have approved the vaccine … Continue reading Government passes off factually incorrect vaccination information as ‘fact’
Children have more coronavirus during early infection phase than hospitalised adults
Researchers found that children infected with novel coronavirus have viral load comparable with adults admitted to ICUs. But during the early infection phase, children can have significantly higher viral load than COVID-19 adults in ICUs. Viral load decreases over time in children. Age of children did not have any impact on viral load. Researchers Massachusetts … Continue reading Children have more coronavirus during early infection phase than hospitalised adults
Reopening schools in India before coronavirus spread is reduced can be disastrous
At a time when coronavirus cases in India are showing a rising trend and when daily fresh cases reported are over 60,000, which is the most in the world, any decision to open schools before the spread is reduced can turn disastrous. The Israel experience of how cases spiked when schools were reopened in end-May … Continue reading Reopening schools in India before coronavirus spread is reduced can be disastrous
Nearly 100,000 children in the U.S. infected with coronavirus in just two weeks
Nearly 1,00,000 (97,078 to be specific) children were infected with novel coronavirus in just two weeks during the period July 16-30. There were 20 deaths during this time. The cumulative number of children who have tested positive stands at 3,38,982, accounting for 8.8% of all cases. Abandon the notion that children are less likely to … Continue reading Nearly 100,000 children in the U.S. infected with coronavirus in just two weeks
Young children have high coronavirus load than older children, adults
Children younger than five years are susceptible to coronavirus infection but generally present with mild symptoms compared with older children and adults. Whether they spread the virus as older children and adults is still not clearly known. Abandon the notion that children, unlike adults, are not susceptible to novel coronavirus infection and show symptoms of … Continue reading Young children have high coronavirus load than older children, adults