 I am Dr. Bhaskar Shanay, Head of the Department of Pediatrics at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore. Now that the government has given permission to administer COVID vaccines for children between 15 and 18 years, there are so many questions being asked, so many doubts are arising in the minds of people, parents and the general public also. I am today answering some of these questions. So the first question which is being asked is, why do children need to be vaccinated? Yes, this is an important question because people think, is it necessary to vaccinate? The fact is that the children between 15 to 18 constitute a large chunk of patients. They are the people who can get infected. In fact, if you look at the UNICEF data, there are about 25 crore adolescents and about 14 crore children between about two years. And with these large numbers, they may not get infected and they may not suffer much, but they are likely to transmit the disease to others. So when we vaccinate these children, the transmission can be prevented to others. Are children at risk of getting sick with COVID? If you look at the previous two waves, the children got infected, but they never became very sick. They can get fever and cough and other symptoms. But the rate of hospitalization, rate of seriousness, rates of ICO admissions and death rates have been very, very low in children. Having said that, these children, though they are not suffering much, but they are likely to transmit the disease and they are likely to infect the other members of the family. So it is important that we halt this transmission. They may not get sick, but they are likely to transmit the disease. Are COVID vaccines safe for children? Yes, it is safe. These vaccines have been tried in large number of clinical trials. And we have the experience of vaccinating the adults, crores of adults across the globe. And we have seen that the amount of or the number of side effects are very, very minimal. And the same thing holds good for children also. And especially in the age group of 15 to 18 years, the chances of side effects are very, very low. And even if the child gets a side effect, these are minor side effects like any other vaccine. The routine childhood vaccines also can give rise to minor side effects like fever, pain at the site of injection, myalgia or the body. The vomiting sensation and tiredness. These are the common side effects which may be there after the vaccine. But these are not life threatening. These are not serious side effects. These side effects can come down with some simple medications. Within 24 to 48 hours, they generally become all right. Is it safe to get other vaccines at the same time as COVID vaccine? That means, can we administer the routine childhood vaccines during the COVID vaccine? Yes, it can be administered. Or you can have at least 15 days gap between the two vaccinations. But absolutely there is no problem in simultaneous administration of all the childhood vaccines, including flu vaccine. Any contraindications to COVID vaccine? In fact, there are no absolute contraindications. Only if the child has the previous history of hypersensitivity or NFL access to the vaccine before or any of the components of the vaccine, then probably we may have to avoid. Otherwise, there is no strict rule that we should avoid. There is no contraindication for the COVID vaccine. So what are the common side effects of COVID vaccine? As I told earlier, there are no major side effects of the COVID vaccines. Most of the side effects are very minimal or trivial. And they go off on their own with some simple medications like paracetamol. They may get fever, headache, body ache, tiredness, vomiting. Sometimes the pain may be there, swelling may be there at the site of injection. And usually these disappear within 24 to 48 hours with some simple medications like paracetamol. Should I get the second dose even if I have side effects with the first dose? As I told, the side effects are very minimal. But in spite of that, even if you have some side effects, you have to get the second dose. There is absolutely no problem unless there is a life-threatening event. Otherwise, there is no problem. People do ask, there are not so many brands of COVID vaccines in the market. Which one is being administered here? What is the vaccine name and is the dose same as adult dose? The vaccine which is approved for children between 12 to 15 years in India at present and which is available at present is manufactured by Bharat Biotech. That is called co-vaccine. The dose is same as adults and children. 0.5 ml intramuscularly at a gap of 28 days. The difference between the first dose and second dose is 28 days. Is the vaccine compulsory? This is one question which people do ask. In my opinion, yes, it is compulsory. Whichever can be prevented, we have to prevent. Why it is compulsory? Because one is to protect the individual. Second is to protect the community. Prevent the spread of the disease in the community. Am I protected from COVID post vaccination? What are the possibilities of getting COVID after the vaccination? This is a very common question. Yes, vaccinated individuals are protected to a large extent. To the tune of about 75 to 80%, sometimes up to 85%. If you look at all the vaccinations, none of the vaccine gives 100% protection. So is COVID vaccine. It can give protection up to 80%. The importance is that even if the person who is vaccinated gets a COVID infection, he will be protected from the severe disease, death, hospitalization. It has been found that vaccinated people are less likely to get admitted, less likely to get a severe disease, less likely to have ventilation, less likely to have intensive care admissions or ICU admissions. So even the death rate is very, very negligible in the world. People who have been vaccinated then got infected. So what I'm trying to tell you is that after vaccination, the severity of the disease and death rate comes down to a large extent. How many doses of the vaccine are required? It is two doses at 28 days interval. People do ask, if I have fever post vaccination, what should I do? If you are comfortable, not very sick, just take paracetamol. Next 48 hours, you just take paracetamol. Generally the symptoms will subside. But if the fever is very severe and too much tiredness, you may have to consult the doctor. Otherwise generally most of the symptoms get okay with some simple medications and lot of hydration, oral fluids will take care. Who are eligible to take the vaccine? All children between 15 to 18 years are eligible to take the vaccine. And especially those children who have underlying immunocompromised condition. Immunocompromised condition means whose immunity is low. Maybe due to a chronic liver disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, neurological disease, malignancy or those who are in steroids, those who are on long term treatments like immunotherapy or anticancer therapy. And these are the children who are especially they need the vaccine and they have to be vaccinated. Is registration at Covin portal is mandatory? If you can register in Covin portal. But there is a provision for walk-in also. Walk-in and then get registered. Both are okay. So direct and prior registration both are okay for administration of this vaccine. What should be the point of concern in inoculating the kids? As of now there is no point of concern as the vaccine has been found to be very safe and efficacious in adults. So same thing when you extrapolate in children. It has been found to be very safe. And this has been tried in multiple centers across the country. The clinical trials have been done and they have been found to be very safe and efficacious also. There is no point of concern in inoculating the children. So I request everyone to get your children who are between 15 completed within 18 years to get the vaccination and protect the child, protect the family, protect the society. Thank you.