New Delhi: In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s announcement, the country is all set to begin the COVID-19 vaccination drive for children aged between 15-18-year-old from Monday.
The CoWIN registration for the age group had begun on Saturday. Beneficiaries can self-register, online through an existing account on Co-WIN or can also register by creating a new account through a unique mobile number, this facility is available for all eligible citizens presently.
Children can also register onsite by the verifier/vaccinator in facilitated registration mode. Appointments can be booked online or onsite (walk-in). The time interval for the second dose is fixed at 28 days.
Vaccination for children of 15-18 years - All you need to know
Registration on Co-WIN begins from 1st January 2022
Only #Covaxin to be administered
States advised to establish separate dedicated Covid Vaccination Centers#IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/PyDANqGvMe
— PIB India (@PIB_India) December 31, 2021
As per Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, the national capital has the capacity to vaccinate 3 lakh children falling in the age group of 15 to 18 years every day. While Kerala`s Health Minister Veena George informed that separate teams have been set up in the state for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines to children.
PM Modi had on December 25, 2021, announced that the vaccination for the age-group 15-18 years is scheduled to begin from Monday while administration of precautionary third dose for the vulnerable categories is to commence from January 10, 2022.
In the context of the vaccination of the age group 15-18 years, the Union Health Secretary informed the States and UTs that only ‘Covaxin’ is to be administered in this population category and additional doses of `Covaxin` will be sent to all states and UTs.
Those with the birth year of 2007 or before will be eligible for vaccination under this category. According to official estimates, there are an estimated 10 crore children in the 15-18 age group eligible for the vaccination.
The move comes amid caution over the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. On Saturday, India reported 22,775 new cases in the last 24 hours. The country’s active caseload stood at 1,04,781.
According to the Health Ministry, out of 1431 Omicron cases, 488 cases have been either discharged or recovered or migrated. According to Cowin, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 145.46 crore until late Saturday.
