Covid causes less severe illness in children than adults: Govt in Lok Sabha

As per the report, the Union Minister was responding to a question on whether the children are getting affected by the Covid-19 infection in the country and the current status of vaccination of children in the age group of 12-18 years and 5-12 years.

The Union Minister said, “according to World Health Organization, SARS-CoV-2 infections among children and adolescents typically cause less severe illness as compared to adult,” adding that, as on July 26, 9.96 crore first doses (82.2% coverage) and 7.79 crore second doses (64.3% coverage) have been administered in children between 12-18 years of age.

It is important to note that vaccination below 12 years of age has not started under the national Covid-19 vaccination programme in the country. The Union Minister explained that adequate vaccine doses have been made available to all states and union territories to vaccinate all eligible children. 

Meanwhile, in another development, the Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said on Wednesday India understood the importance of family planning early and was the first country to launch a national family planning programme in 1952. Chairing the national family planning summit, 2022, she highlighted that India is an important member of the FP2020, which has now transitioned to FP2030, and as part of its commitment to this partnership, USD 3 billion has been invested in family planning, according to news agency PTI report. 

Additionally, the Union Minister notified that Family Planning (FP) 2030 is the successor to FP2020, a global initiative for family planning providing a space for stakeholders to convene, align, share knowledge, broker resources, and advance the field.

(With inputs from PTI)

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