COVID-19 | Indigenous nasal vaccines could be game changer, says WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan

Soumya Swaminathan says schools should be reopened only when the risk of community transmission is low.

Amidst rising cases of COVID-19, World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan said that nasal vaccines, which are being made in India, could be a game-changer for children. As per medical experts, the third wave of COVID-19 disease which is expected to hit the country next year is likely to affect children more than the first two waves.

Speaking about the nasal vaccines which are expected to be available next year, Swaminathan said: “Some of the nasal vaccines that are going to be made in India could be game changers for children — easy to administer, will give you local immunity in the respiratory tract."

According to Swaminathan, a paediatrician and clinical scientist, teachers especially should be vaccinated and schools be reopened only when the risk of community transmission is low. “I am very hopeful that ultimately we’ll have a vaccine for children. But that’s not going to happen this year, and we should open schools when community transmission is down. That’s what the rest of the countries have done, with other precautions. And if teachers are vaccinated, that would be a big step forward," she told CNN News18.

Rapid vaccination of the population is being seen as an effective way to curb the further spread of COVID-19. However, India is currently not inoculating children or individuals below the age of 18.

The medical community has been calling for effective and safe doses for children before the third wave arrives. In the United States, Pfizer’s jab has already been approved for use for children between the age of 12 and 15.

Currently, Zydus' ZyCoV-D and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin (already being used for adults) are under trial for children above the age of 12 in India.

Recently, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, in a letter addressed to the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan pointed out how the third wave could affect children.

"There are guidelines on the management of the newborn in a maternity ward and in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), but there is an urgent need to reorganise a Neonatal/Children Emergency Transport Service (NETS) to prepare specifically for neonatal and children for the third wave of COVID-19," it stated.

"Keeping in view high risk involved for infants and children in the upcoming third wave of COVID-19, you are requested to kindly issue necessary directions for emergency transport services/ambulances suitable for children and neonatals," the child rights' body added.