COVID Vaccination for Kids Takes Off Across Nation, Over 12 L Take Dose by 1 PM

Vaccination for children in the age group 15-18 began on Monday, amid a hike in the COVID-19 cases in the country.

In a welcome move, vaccination for children in the age group 15-18 began on Monday, 3 January, amid a hike in the COVID-19 cases in the country.

(Photo: PTI)

Vaccination for children in the age group 15-18 began on Monday, 3 January, amid a hike in the COVID-19 cases in the country.

As per data on the CoWin website, over 12 lakh (12,69,338) children had received their first dose of the vaccine by 1 pm on Monday.

"The world's largest vaccination campaign has started for children in the age group of 15 to 18 across the country from today. I thank Modi ji for giving our Young India the protection cover from coronavirus," Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet, sharing a video from the vaccination drive.

"Securing our Young India. Some glimpses of the COVID19 Vaccination drive for children in the 15-18 age group. I urge my young friends to get vaccinated at the earliest & further strengthen the world's largest vaccination drive," Mandaviya said in another tweet.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the Civil Hospital in Lucknow to mark the first day of the vaccination programme for children.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Monday said, "COVID vaccination for children in the 15-18 age group has started today. We've seen a very good response from parents and children so far. We've 15 lakh such children in Kerala and we hope to vaccinate them within 10 days."

Over 8 lakh eligible teens had registered for the vaccine on the CoWin portal on Monday by 1 pm.

Vaccination appointments can be booked online, or onsite (walk-in). Beneficiaries can also be registered onsite by the verifier/vaccinator in facilitated registration mode, as per government guidelines.

Covaxin Being Administered to Eligible Children

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin is being administered to the children whose birth year is 2007 or later, as per guidelines released by the government.

The vaccine had received emergency use authorisation from for use in children over the age of 12 by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on 25 December.

The Union Health Ministry has indicated that additional doses of the Covaxin will be sent to all states and Union territories for inoculating children.

The government's decision to permit vaccination for teens aged 15-18 was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a late-night address to the nation on 25 December.

India's vaccination drive for children begins at a time when the country has reported 27,553 new cases on Sunday, a 21 percent rise from Saturday's 22,775. The country has seen 1,525 Omicron cases so far.

Delhi to Vaccinate Children at 159 Sites

The Delhi government has rolled out vaccination for children at 159 centres – government hospitals, primary healthcare centres, and government schools – from Monday.

Here is a full list of vaccination sites for children.

"The maximum vaccination centres are in the South West district - 21. Central Delhi has 17, East Delhi has 15 and 18 centres in New Delhi," as per an official notification issued by the Delhi government.

Those in the age group of 15-18 are required to produce an ID proof and a school ID card to get the COVID-19 vaccine in the capital city.

"Schools will have to appoint a nodal officer that will ensure vaccination of all the students in the school. In addition to the ID proof already valid for the vaccination, the school ID cards of a children are also valid. Walk-in registration facility will also be provided at the vaccination centre," the state government order says.

Further, the responsibility of apprising parents of the nearest vaccination centre has been given to class teachers of the eligible age groups' classes.

Delhi recorded 3,194 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. The national capital has reported 357 cases of the Omicron variant so far, of which 57 have been discharged, or have recovered or migrated.

(With inputs from ANI)