People asked to register teenage children for COVID vaccination

Story by  ATV | Posted by  sabir hussain • 2 Years ago
Representational photo
Representational photo

 

New Delhi

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted on Saturday that the safety of children secures the future of the country and urged the people to get their eligible children registered for COVID-19 vaccination.

The minister’s tweet came as registrations for COVID-19 vaccination of children in the 15 to 18 years age group commenced on the Co-WIN portal

"If the children are safe, then the future of the country is safe! On the occasion of New Year, registration is being started on the COWIN portal for COVID19 vaccination of children in the age group of 15 to 18 years from today. I request the family members to register the eligible children for vaccination," Mandaviya tweeted.

On December 25, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the vaccination process for the age group of 15-18 would begin on the new year while the precautionary third dose for the vulnerable categories would commence on January 10.

In the context of the vaccination of the age group 15-18 years, the Union Health Secretary informed the States/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.

The Union Government will share the supply schedule of 'Covaxin' with all the States and UTs in the next few days. Potential beneficiaries can either register themselves on Co-WIN from January 1, 2022, or avail of a walk-in registration when vaccination commences from January 3. Those born in 2007 or earlier will be eligible for vaccination under this category.

All established protocols regarding vaccination are to be followed for the 15-18 years age group. Beneficiaries have to wait for half an hour after vaccination and will be monitored for adverse events following immunization (AEFI). They will be eligible for the second dose only after 28 days.

States were informed that they have the option to designate some COVID vaccination centre (CVC)s as dedicated CVC for the 15-18 age group exclusively which can also be reflected on Co-WIN. Dedicated CVCs would ensure that there is no confusion in administering the vaccines. For CVCs that are intended to serve categories in addition to the 15-18 age group, the states were requested to ensure separate queues for the 15-18 age group and separate vaccination teams.

States were advised to form two separate vaccination teams at the same CVC, one for 15-18 age groups and the other for all adults to avoid confusion in the administration of the right vaccines.

With regard to the administration of the precautionary dose, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan highlighted that nine months (39 weeks) must have elapsed since the administration of the second dose to make the beneficiary eligible.