Covid vaccination for 15-18 age group: Nearly 6.80 lakh teens register so far
PremiumThe vaccine option for this age group would only be Covaxin, according to guidelines issued by the Union health ministry on 27 December
As many as 6,79,064 teenagers between the age group of 15 to 18 were registered on the CoWIN portal for their Covid-19 vaccination until 9 pm on Sunday, data shows.
Beneficiaries in this age group can also get themselves registered onsite.
The registration for this category of beneficiaries opened on Saturday. According to the guidelines, they can self-register online through an existing account on CoWIN or can also register by creating a new account through a unique mobile number as is the case with all other categories of beneficiaries.
The vaccine option for this age group would only be Covaxin, according to guidelines issued by the Union health ministry on 27 December.
The Drugs Controller General of India granted emergency use authorisation to indigenously-developed Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for children above 12 years with certain conditions on 24 December.
Meanwhile, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya advised states and Union Territories to provide separate vaccination centres, session sites, queue and different vaccination teams for the 15-18 year age group to avoid the mixing-up of vaccines.
Mandaviya, who interacted with health ministers and principal secretaries and additional chief secretaries of states and Union Territories on Sunday through a video link, stressed the need to ensure smooth implementation of new vaccination guidelines.
He advised them to ensure the orientation of vaccinators and vaccination team members and the identification of dedicated session sites for this category of beneficiaries.
During the meeting, Mandaviya advised the states to leave no stone unturned in ramping up infrastructure to manage a high surge so that India escapes unscathed from this phase of Covid-19.
Mandaviya said, "We have put up a strong fight against Covid earlier and this learning must be used to re-focus on efforts against the Omicron variant."
"We must focus on planning with regard to the 15-18 age group vaccination and precautionary doses for eligible beneficiaries," he observed.
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