This is an archive article published on August 26, 2021
Vaccination for children: NTAGI Covid panel begins talks, may submit recommendations in 15 days
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.
3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Aug 26, 2021 05:53 AM IST
Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, in a letter stated that in India 7.4 crore children between 15-18 years are eligible for mass vaccination. (File)
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.
As the Covid-19 standing committee of the NTAGI has started discussions on vaccination of children, sources said the technical body will be looking at scientific data on co-morbidities among children and the proportion of this vulnerable group to make recommendations to the government on aspects related to prioritisation of vaccination for the children.
Story continues below this ad
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Health Secretary Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting with all states to review progress of Covid-19 vaccination. The states were advised to focus on enhancing second dose coverage as well as immunization of school teachers and staff.
Ahead of the meeting, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that more than two crore additional vaccine doses will be sent to the states from August 27 to vaccinate school teachers and non-teaching staff on a priority basis.
“The Union Health Secretary stressed on having a definite district-level plan to increase coverage of second dose. States were advised to undertake targeted strategies like earmarking specific days/ specific vaccination sites/ specific timings every day/ separate queue to exclusively administer second dose of the vaccines,” the Health Ministry said.
“The states were also requested to identify districts whose vaccine coverage is lower than the state average and monitor as well as enhance progress of vaccination in these districts.”
As City Editor ( Delhi) at the Indian Express, Kaunain Sheriff leads city reporting with a sharp focus on accountability journalism, data-driven stories, and ground-level impact. As the National Health Editor he leads the newsroom’s in-depth coverage of pressing health issues.
He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, a definitive investigation into the accountability of one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical corporations.
Areas of Expertise
Investigative Reporting: Has deep expertise in investigative reporting spanning public health, regulatory affairs, drug safety, and the criminal justice system. His work sits at the intersection of governance, law, and accountability, with a particular focus on how regulatory failures, institutional lapses, and policy decisions affect citizens’ rights and safety.
Data Journalism: Has extensively on big data–driven investigations, including analyses of flagship government schemes and large datasets on criminal trials, uncovering systemic gaps.
Global Collaborations
Kaunain is a key contributor to major international journalistic projects:
The Implant Files: Collaborated with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) to expose global malpractices in the medical device industry.
Chinese Big-Data Investigation: Uncovered how a foreign data firm monitored thousands of prominent Indian institutions and individuals in real-time.
Awards & Recognition
His commitment to "Journalism of Courage" has been recognized with the industry's highest honors:
Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism
SOPA Award (Society of Publishers in Asia)
Red Ink Award (Mumbai Press Club)
Indian Express Excellence Awards (Triple recipient for investigations into the NSA abuse in UP, Vyapam scam, and the anti-Sikh riots).
Education: Studied Mechanical Engineering at Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Bangalore, before moving to Delhi to pursue his passion for journalism. His engineering training informs his analytical approach, enabling him to decode technical, legal, and data-heavy systems with precision.
Social media
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kaunain-sheriff-3a00ab99
X ( fromerly Twitter): @kaunain_s ... Read More
