Vaccination drive for teenagers starts across the nation as of today. More than 7 Lakh teenagers registers themselves on CoWIN App, which started on 1st Jan 2022. The eligible age group for vaccination in kids as of now is 15-18 years. Any teenager born in 2007 or before is eligible for the first dose of vaccination. For this phase of vaccination drive for teenagers only Covaxin is the option available. It will include two jabs with a gap of 28 days. Though Corbevax and Cocovax are still under trials for usage of 5-18 age group. Vaccination for teenagers was announced by the PM Modi on 25th Dec 2021 due to rise in Omicron cases.

AIM of this vaccination drive is to protect the young India as stated by the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. In India there are approximately 74 million teenagers which are eligible for this addition of the vaccination drive.

Teenagers Vaccination Drive Details:

The vaccination drive for teenagers is starting on a positive note as school kids especially of 10th and 12th standard were in great fear as schools were reopening. In the past we have seen that teenagers have been infected when school reopened. Parents were also in dilemma as to send their kids to school without any protective cover of vaccination.

States have prepared themselves for this big task. Firstly, a large number of schools and educational institutions have been roped in for this job. These school and education institution will functioning as vaccination centres. Secondly, there will be separate sections and lines for teenagers in hospitals and health centres. Thirdly, Aadhaar card is not mandatory for teenagers to get the jab. School Id and Date Of Birth [D.O.B] are essential for age verification. Along with these a team of paediatricians will be available on the centres to keep a check if any adverse effect is seen.

State’s Status For The Drive:

TAMIL NADU State data shows the maximum eligible population to be vaccinated with 33.20 eligible candidates. Followed by ASSAM, the population eligible stands at 18.25 lakh teenagers. Next in line is HARYANA with 15 -16 lakhs teenagers to be vaccinated under this drive. DELHI has to vaccinate around 7-9 lakh teenagers for this drive. As of now Schools are closed in the capital and will be serving as vaccination centres. Delhi has the second highest cases of omicron at this time and covid cases are also increasing very fast. MAHARASHTRA is expecting to vaccinate around 9 lakh teenagers though the numbers could be more as still more data is pouring in. The omicron effect is maximum in Maharashtra with 510 cases. In last weekend Maharashtra has shown tremendous increase in infection rate.

Conclusion

The step to vaccinate teenagers is surely a step of progression in the fight against corona. But as we all are aware we still running behind in vaccinating our adult population with both doses as of now. So, the decision will put an excessive load on the doses distribution and production. The commencement of precautionary dose from 10th Jan will add more gravitas to the vaccination load to be administered across the nation.