COVID-19 vaccine programme: Under-45s with comorbidities feel left out

Three days after the start of vaccinations for senior citizens and those aged between 45 and 59 years having comorbidities some citizens have questioned if those below 45 donrsquot have comorbidities Families who have young ones fighting lifethreatening ailments on dialysis chemotherapy or immunosuppressantssteroids have argued that such people are at greater risk of contracting COVID19 as they also have to go out for work visit hospitals etcAn elderly woman at the Dahisar Jumbo COVID Centrersquos vaccination centre on Wednesday PicSatej ShindeA Chartered Accountant CA from Thane district who did not wish to be named said ldquoMy wife underwent a bone marrow transplant for multiple myeloma four years ago and my son in his early 20s undergoes dialysis at home after his body rejected a transplanted kidney Both of them are at high risk While my wife is above 45 years my son canrsquot get the vaccine Isnrsquot this unfairrdquoDr Shailesh V Shrikhande deputy director Tata Memorial Hospital TMH Mumbai said ldquoThose aged below 45 years will be covered gradually Government authorities are keen to get everyone vaccinated With a population of 130 crore in India the demand and supply of vaccination will surely not be easy for anyone to manage the world overrdquoDr Shrikhande added ldquoI belong to a family of doctors all of us have by default got vaccinated as we are front line workers But my mother 83 is renal patient and has to undergo dialysis once in 4 days and my father who is also a surgeon and is ninety years old both are yet to be vaccinated and we will be going as per the advice of our nephrologists and other specialists who will advise us about the immune condition of my mother and whenever they suggest we will go ahead with vaccination I would advise younger people with comorbidities to not panic or hurry The vaccinesrsquo efficacies are being monitored and adverse reactions in comorbid people are being evaluated Even after the vaccination COVID hygiene will have to be maintained for more than a yearrdquoldquoTATA Memorial Centre is exploring possibilities of offering vaccination to cancer patients and cancer hospital employeesrdquo he addedlsquoImmunise to stop resurgencersquoDr Wiqar Shaikh professor of Medicine Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals said ldquoIt is pertinent to note that a sizable Indian population below 45 years suffers from comorbid ailments like high blood pressure diabetes chronic kidney failure heart ailments thalassemia cancer etcldquoWhy should this young and sick population be discriminated against and denied the COVID19 vaccine These people do go out of their house for jobs hospital visits etc This could make them more vulnerablerdquoDr Shaikh quoted an article published in the journal lsquoSciencersquo on February 2 which concluded that the resurgence of COVID19 in the US has been driven by adults aged 20 to 49 years The study also concluded that mass vaccination for this age group could control COVIDldquoIndeed denying the vaccine to the young with comorbidities could result in a resurgent COVID in Indiardquo Dr Shaikh saidlsquoInclude youngsters in Phase 3rsquoDr Subhash Hira Professor of Global Health at the University of WashingtonSeattle and advisor to several UN and Indian health agencies said ldquoIndia has embarked on delivering the worldrsquos largest indigenous COVID19 vaccine program to its young and adult 21 years population It is based on findings of several quick studies done by health and research institutes such as the MOH amp the ICMR In Maharashtra an early government report of 882 COVID19 cases recorded 66 deaths with the following breakdown 237 deaths occurred in 2145 years of age 7037 deaths in 4560 years age having two or more comorbidities and gt2337 deaths in 6180 years of age Furthermore based on scientific data available globally the national health leaders at Niti Aayog and MOH drafted a strategic design to get the best outcomes of COVID19 vaccine delivery starting in January 2021 as the nation took the leap forward to protect its citizens In Phase1 over 10 crore frontline workers in the health enforcement and national service sectors were to be covered by June 2021 Phase 2 starting in March 2021 will cover another 10crore elderly and over 421 crore of vulnerable individuals in the age group of 4560 years with significant comorbidities These serious illnesses are considered mostly to be diabetesgt10 years standing heart conditions cancers immunecompromised states such as HIVAIDS and host of several permutations and combinations of chronic illnesses However in Phase 2 individuals with similar comorbidities and genetic disorders but who are under 45 years of age will be left behind but possibly to be included in the subsequent strategy of Phase 3 starting in JulyAugust 2021 The phased differential delivery of COVID19 vaccines in India is a strategically planned program to ensure best outcomes in providing protection from severe COVID19 disease and deathrdquoAdded Dr Hira ldquoNow each case of severe COVID19 disease and death is preventable Hence vulnerable individuals in the age of 45 years and having comorbidities deserve to receive vaccine protection I suggest that as the Phase 2 kicks in these variations and outliers should be looked at by the Task Force at the State level The solutions will be easy to get while the nation grapples with many more challenges such as the emergence of variants of SARSCOV2 India will be a winner because it is in a unique position of producing indigenous vaccinesrdquo Dr Bharat Shah senior nephrologist and founder trustee of NGO Narmada Kidney Foundation said ldquoAnyone below 18 years of age is not advised to take either of the COVID vaccines For those who are on immunosuppressants we recommend Covishield and not Covaxin as it is made of inactivated virus Generally transplant patients on immunosuppression are advised not to take liveattenuated or inactivated viral vaccinesrdquoJulyAugMonths this year that Phase 3 of the national vaccination drive is scheduled to begin