Children Can Register For Vaccines From January 1, Use Student ID Card

Children between 15 and 18 can register for COVID-19 vaccines on the CoWIN app from January 1 using their school ID cards, the government said Monday morning. CoWIN chief Dr RS Sharma told news agency ANI an additional slot had been created on the online platform so students could use their ID cards to register for the shots. This is because some may not have Aadhaar or other required ID cards, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, had said children in the 15-18 age group could get their first round of Covid vaccines from January 3. The Prime Minister, who also announced "precaution" or booster shots for frontline and healthcare workers, as well as those over 60, said vaccinating kids - something other countries have already done - would help schools and students return to normal.

Children in India will be vaccinated with one of two shots - either Bharat Biotech's double-dose Covaxin or Zydus Cadila's three-dose ZyCoV-D, both of which have been cleared for kids over 12. The drug controller has cleared Serum Institute's Novavax for trials on kids between seven and 11 years of age, and Biological E's Corbevax has been cleared for trials on children over five. Neither Novavax nor Corbevax have been cleared for use as yet.