Even as the Covid-19 positive cases are rising among children in the State, a top health official said vaccination of 12-year-old above children would start in the State only after the Central Government issues the necessary guidelines.
Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) Dr CBK Mohanty said, “The vaccine for children got necessary approvals yesterday. As a national guideline is yet to be released by the Centre, it will not be appropriate to say when the process to vaccinate children will start in Odisha.” The process would start after we receive necessary guidelines as the Centre is in control of the guidelines and vaccine supply, added Mohanty. The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) on Friday approved Zydus Cadila's three-dose Covid-19 DNA vaccine for emergency use in adults and children aged 12 years and above.
Notably, the State is now witnessing a rise in the number of Covid-19 infections among children below 18 years old for the past few days. As many as 116 cases in the 0-18 age group were reported in the past 24 hours in the State.
According to Mohanty, out of the daily new Covid-19 cases being reported from different parts of the State, nearly 12 per cent are children.
“The Covid-19 cases are still high in some districts including Khordha and Cuttack. The rate is high in Bhubaneswar as people are not following the Covid-19 norms,” he said.