This is an archive article published on March 14, 2022
Explained: The Centre’s decision to open up Covid-19 vaccination for kids in 12-14 age bracket
According to the Health Ministry, Corbevax, that is manufactured by the Hyderabad-based Biological-E, will be used to inoculate kids in this age group.
Currently, people above the age of 14 are eligible for Covid-19 vaccine. (Express Photo: Amit Mehra)
From Wednesday, kids in the 12-14 age bracket will be able to get their Covid-19 vaccines as the Centre decided to expand its inoculation drive. We take a look at who are eligible for these shots and what vaccines will be used to inoculate the kids.
Who are eligible and when will they get their Covid-19 vaccine shots?
The Health Ministry announced that those born in 2008, 2009, and 2010, i.e, those who are above the age of 12, will be eligible for their Covid-19 vaccines from March 16.
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Currently, the population above 14 years of age are being administered Covid-19 vaccines under the ongoing inoculation programme.
Which vaccines will be used for this age group?
According to the Health Ministry, Corbevax, that is manufactured by the Hyderabad-based Biological-E, will be used to inoculate kids in this age group. Corbevax is India’s first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein sub-unit vaccine. On February 21, India’s drug approval agency granted emergency use authorization to Corbevax for the 12-18 years age group.
What is the technology that Corbevax has been built on?
Corbevax, a protein sub-unit Covid-19 vaccine, is one that is built on the traditional sub-unit vaccine platform. Instead of the whole virus, the platform triggers an immune response by using fragments of it, like the spike protein. The sub-unit vaccine contains the harmless S-protein, and once the human immune system recognises it, it produces antibodies, such as white blood cells, that fight the infection.
Corbevax includes antigenic parts of the virus to trigger a protective immune response. The antigen has been developed by the Texas Children’s Hospital Centre for Vaccine Development and in-licensed from BCM Ventures, Baylor College of Medicine’s integrated commercialization team.
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
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