Covid vaccination for children: More than 80K teenagers administered on 1st day in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: On the first day of vaccination for children aged 15 to 18 years, a total of 80,129 teenagers were administered the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19 in Odisha on Monday, officials said. The beneficiaries have taken the first dose of vaccine at 939 dedicated vaccination centres set up across the state, Health Department officials said.

Only the Covaxin vaccine has been given to those who are in the 15-18 age group. A total of 23.65 lakh children in Odisha are eligible for vaccination against Covid-19, they said.

Earlier on Monday, the health and family welfare director, Bijay Panigrahi said that the individuals in the 15-18 age group, who have not yet registered themselves online on the CoWIN portal for the vaccination, have also been allowed to get the jab by doing on-spot registration at the centre.

As there are possibilities that some teenagers may have a fever like minor AEFI, the state government has decided not to vaccinate the children, who are having examinations now. They will be vaccinated after completion of the tests, said Panigrahi.

Around 939 special vaccination centres have been set up in Odisha for the children’s vaccination drive.

Worth mentioning, the Union Health Ministry has earlier said that those who were born on or before January 1, 2007 will be eligible for the Covid-19 vaccination process. They can take the second dose between 18 to 40 days after the first dose.

Earlier on January 2 during a high-level virtual meeting held between the Health and School and Mass Education Departments of Odisha, it has been decided that the Covid vaccination for Class 10 and Class 12 students will be delayed in the State as they are having examinations. As per the decision taken during the meeting, the class 10 students can take their first dose of COVID vaccine after January 8 while the class 12 students can take the vaccine jab after January 11. Hence, the students of 9th and 11th will be vaccinated first.

The students who have been infected with the Covid virus recently, will be receiving the Covaxin dose after three months.

(With input from IANS)