Paediatrician speaks: Children are silent virus spreaders; COVID-19 vaccine a must
The first dose of Covid-19 vaccine began at Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru with special access to children for 15-18 age group with special needs; let us know what a paediatrician has to say about it.
FollowOn January 3, vaccinations for the age group 15-18 years began after over 6 lakh teens had registered for the jabs on the Co-WIN platform until Sunday evening. The vaccination drive gained more importance as the daily case spike resumed its upward trajectory in India, with over 33,750 new cases registered over the past 24 hours.
According to reports, over 40 lakh children received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on the first day of the vaccination drive, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. According to guidelines issued by the Union Health Ministry, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin is the only Covid-19 vaccine administered to the age group of 15-18 years.
Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru organised a vaccination drive for special children in the age group of 15-18 years across all its centres in Bengaluru. The vaccination drive was conducted with Asha Kiran Special Needs School, Samarthanam Trust for Disabled, and a few NGO’s accounting for nearly 100 children receiving the vaccination across the centres (Old Airport Road, Sarjapur, Varthur, Yeshwanthpur, Whitefield, and Hebbal).
The COO of Manipal Hospitals, Karthik Rajagopal said, “Manipal Hospitals believes in delivering affordable healthcare to all. Carrying light to the idea of for the children - by the children, few of the employee juniors across the units, came forward with their piggy bank box in order to support the needy ones in the vaccination drive. We are delighted to launch the vaccination drive for special children. Manipal has delivered slots to provide smooth a vaccination drive for children with special healthcare needs. This initiative can be a support for the parents and caregivers of special needs youngsters, giving them some relief against Covid 19 during the pandemic."
Also Read | As COVID cases rise, nationwide vaccination for children begins today
Dr Sagar Sharma, consultant Pediatrician Manipal Hospital Sarjapur Road Bengaluru also spoke about the importance of vacation for the children. Dr Sharma said that children are silent spreaders, spending hours in the schools many can get the virus back home and also spread to others/ adults. So if the children are vaccinated then the spread can be stopped and the severity will be less.
Talking about the after-effects in children will be the same as adults that we saw last year after having the first dose. Headache, fatigue, fever, body ache, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, dizziness can be the side effects of Covaxin.
Also Read: India records 33,750 new COVID cases, Omicron tally stands at 1,700
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