The Centre will decide the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine for children below 18 on the basis of overall “scientific rationale” and their supply, Niti Aayog member (health) and India’s Covid-19 Task Force chief VK Paul told news agency PTI on Sunday.

Notably, Zydus Cadila’s vaccine – ZyCoV-D has become the first indigenously manufactured, needle-free Covid-19 vaccine to be approved for people aged 12 and above for emergency use in the country. Earlier in the week, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) also recommended Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for emergency use in children. However, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) is yet to give a go-ahead to Covaxin, as it has sought additional technical opinion.

Also Read | DCGI yet to approve Covaxin’s emergency use in children

At the moment, India is administering three vaccines to eligible beneficiaries aged 18 and above – Covishield, Covaxin and Russia’s Sputnik V. Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc have received the nod and are currently negotiating for legal indemnity.

In an interview with PTI, Paul said that although a “particular timeline” on when Covid-19 vaccination will commence for children in India cannot be provided currently, it will soon be rolled out. He further stated that the preparation for the “incorporation of Zydus Cadila’s vaccine into the vaccination programme is proceeding well,” and that training is already being held, keeping in mind the advice by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) for the “best use of the vaccine is explored.”

“A pragmatic decision (on vaccination of children and adolescents) can be taken (only) by balancing the supply and the potential eligibility,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Paul further cautioned against the loosening of guard against Covid-19, saying it will not be fair to say that the “worst is over.” “It is reassuring that the number of Covid-19 cases are now on the decline and the second wave is now subsiding but…we have seen in other nations, there have been more than two waves,” he told PTI.

He stressed that with the festive season underway, which invites potential gatherings across the nation, this is a “critical phase” as the virus can spread again. Dr Paul said that it has been noticed even in countries where the Covid-19 vaccination coverage is good that the “escalation in the pandemic can happen and has happened.”

Also Read | ‘Will have to continue wearing masks through next year’: Dr VK Paul

The Niti Aayog official stated that states and Union territories (UTs), which are lagging behind in inoculating jabs to their adult population, must pull up their sleeves as there is “no dearth, no inadequacy of vaccine supply” now.

He also refuted claims that India will run out of ample syringes for administering Covid-19 vaccines if every adult person has to be vaccinated by the end of the year. “There is no problem of syringe availability, we are in a good shape,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

According to data shared by the Union ministry of health and social welfare (MoHFW), 10,42,45,455 coronavirus vaccines are still available with states and UTs, whereas more than 101.7 crore vaccines have been supplied already. As far as the overall vaccination coverage is concerned, India has vaccinated over 97 crore beneficiaries with 11, 54, 245 jabs administered on Sunday.