Covid-19 vaccination drive for 15-18 age group started from today

On Monday, India began a vaccination campaign against the coronavirus for youngsters aged 15 to 18. This year’s registration procedure began on January 1st. During his address to the nation on December 25, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his approval for children in this age range to get vaccinated. He also stated that the precautionary third dose will begin on January 10, 2022, for healthcare staff, frontline workers, and individuals over 60 years old with serious health issues.

On Monday, Health Minister Veena George expressed confidence in the completion of the COVID-19 vaccination for the 15-18 age range in a timely way.

On the first day of inoculation for the age group, the Minister visited the vaccination centre at the General Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

There are now 1,426 vaccination centres in operation in the state, including 551 for minors aged 15 to 18 and 875 for adults. The vaccination centres for the former include pink-colored placards to minimise misunderstanding.

According to the health ministry, the government is only distributing youngsters Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccination since it is the only vaccine with an emergency use label for the 15-18 age range.

The government has issued rules for the registration procedure and immunisation, according to the Minister, who also stated that parents and children have reacted favourably to the activity.

According to her, the Health Department has requested information from the Education Department on eligible school students who have gotten their vaccinations.

Ms. George noted that 98 percent of people have received their first dosage and over 80% have received their second dose.

In all, 5,02,700 doses have been sent to the state, with 1,34,590 doses delivered to Kozhikode, 1,97,900 doses delivered to Ernakulam, and 1,70,210 doses delivered to Thiruvananthapuram. Ms. George estimated that an additional 1,14,530 vaccination doses would be needed. She stated that the federal government has assured her of ample supplies.

Given the surge in Omicron variant instances, the Minister has advised the public to follow COVID-19 guidelines. Eighty-four persons from low-risk nations tested positive for Omicron when they arrived in the state. Arrivals from low-risk nations are required to observe themselves for seven days. The Minister advised them to follow the quarantine procedures.

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