Covid vaccination for children: Private hospitals begin talks with schools; guidelines expected next week

KEY STORY

• The government is expected to come out with guidelines for vaccinating children next week. However, leading private hospitals in the country have already started discussions with various schools to host clinics to provide Covid-19 vaccinations as soon as vaccines are available, the Economic Times mentioned in a report citing people in the know.

• Max Healthcare said it is exploring tieups with various leading schools to support the government’s vaccination drive as and when it allows for the paediatric population. The publication quoted Fortis Healthcare as saying, “As and when the approved vaccine for children between 2-18 years is rolled out, the hospital is planning to tie up with schools, colleges and housing societies to vaccinate the maximum number of children.”

• So far the government has approved Zydus Cadila’s vaccine Zy-Cov-D for use in children as young as 12 years old. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is also expected to get the drug regulator’s nod soon after its subject expert committee (SEC) recently recommended its use in children as young as two years old.

• The hospitals are looking at the feasibility to do vaccination in school premises. They are asking the schools to provide infrastructure and take consent from parents. “We have been having conversations with the schools,” the business daily quoted a senior executive in a private hospital as saying. “Many have said, ‘once the government decides, we will firm up our stands’. School infrastructure can be used for vaccination,” the person said on condition of anonymity.

• Many schools have got in touch with hospitals on their own as they reopen. “The schools are initiating talks not only regarding the vaccination but also about the safety protocol that they should follow as they reopen,” the business daily quoted an official at Indraprastha Apollo in Delhi as saying.

• Arvind Taneja, chief advisor, paediatrics and infectious diseases, at Max Smart Super Specialty Hospital, Saket, too, said the hospital has been receiving queries about children’s vaccinations from parents and schools specially before sessions reopen.

CONCLUSION 

• “Covid vaccines are very reliable and effective in children,” the publication quoted Taneja as saying. “Since schools are reopening, all children above 5 years should be vaccinated on priority since they can be infected or be asymptomatic carriers of the virus.” Immunocompromised children such as those who are overweight or suffer from diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and high BP, and cancer survivors should be given priority, Taneja said.

• Fortis Healthcare said it has been taking necessary steps like arranging inoculation drives for eligible adults at the hospital as well as corporate offices, housing societies and in similar other setups.