What To Expect When Children Get Covaxin Shots

Are there  going to be Side Effects Of Covaxin On Children? From January 3, India is going to administer coronavirus vaccination, Covaxin for children between the age of 15 and 18. The side effects in adults varied from body ache to fever, the doctors have talked about what the side effect will be for the children of the particular age group.

As the Omicron cases rise in the country, the first concern that remains for administration is a vaccination for all. This includes the children, who are vulnerable to the coronavirus. According to doctors, the effects of vaccines for children can be expected to be mild. While effects like pain at the injection site, mild fever, body ache, swelling, amongst others still remain possible side effects.

The doctors said that whenever any vaccine is administered, "Anaphylaxis (adverse effects) are expected. The state and central governments, as well as pediatricians, experienced the same when vaccination for Measles-Rubella (MR) was undertaken.

Suggested Reading: Things Indian Moms Are Doing To Stay Away From Coronavirus Infection

Dr Basavaraj GV, Professor of Paediatrics at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health said that health workers are trained and equipped to handle such situations. So far, side effects like skin rashes, difficulty in breathing, vomiting and pain in the abdomen, amongst other adverse side effects have not been witnessed on taking the Covaxin dose.

Covaxin is made by Bharat Biotech, which is based in Hyderabad. At the beginning of their vaccination campaign, they had announced side effected like swelling, redness, itching, headache, fever, amongst others. The registration for vaccine doses will begin on January 1, 2022.

According to Dr Srikanta JT, Consultant at Paediatric Interventional Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine believe that fever and body ache can be expected.

The Covaxin received emergency use approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI). This was announced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on December 27 this year. Along with the announcement on vaccine dose, the ministry also laid down the procedure for getting a jab. The reason why the government-approved vaccination for children is because they could act like carriers of the virus at home and in schools. Read more about it here.

Reportedly, this decision was taken on the advice of the COVID-19 Working Group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and the Standing Technical Scientific Committee (STSC) of NTAGI.