PM Modi urges children to get vaccinated

Staff Reporter

Free of cost COVID vaccination for children in the age group of 12 to 14 years begins today on the occasion of National Vaccination Day at all Government COVID Vaccination Centers. Corbevax vaccine will be administered which is manufactured by Biological E. Limited, Hyderabad.

This can be through online registration beginning at 9 AM or through onsite walk-in. People above 60 years of age are eligible for Precaution Dose from today, as the condition of comorbidity for this age group has been removed. The Precaution Dose is to be administered after 9 months after the date of second vaccination.

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi has dedicated a seperate vaccination site for children in the age group of 12 to 14. Talking to AIR News, Covid Vccination Centre incharge at RML Hospital, Dr Neelam Roy said, one of the parents should accompany the child during the vaccination. She said, an expert team of doctors is supervising the vaccination process.

Centre has sent detailed instructions and Operational Guidelines to States and UTs in this regard.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has expressed happiness that on National Vaccination Day 2022, India begins COVID jabs for 12 to 14 year olds. In a series of tweets, Mr Naidu said, with over 180 crore doses, India’s vaccination drive has been unprecedented in both scale and reach.

Vice President said, vaccination plays an important role in preventing many life-threatening diseases and therefore, focus should be on creating public awareness, especially in rural areas. Mr Naidu expressed confident that just like Polio, India will be able to defeat COVID19 pandemic sooner than later.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also urged children in the age groups of 12 to 14 to get vaccinated. In a series of tweets, Mr Modi said, today is an important day in India’s efforts to vaccinate the citizens. He said, now onwards, youngsters in the 12 to 14 age group are eligible for vaccines and all those above 60 are eligible for precaution doses.

Mr Modi said, India has many Made in India vaccines and the government has also granted approval to other vaccines after a due process of evaluation. He said, India is in a much better position to fight the pandemic.

In Gujarat, about 20 lakh children between 12 to 14 years of age will now be eligible for Covid vaccination. This was announced by the State health minister Rushikesh Patel while launching the drive from Gandhinagar this morning. He said that vaccination will take place at all existing centers with online registration as well as spot registration. According to the state health department, Gujarat has already fully vaccinated 4.96 crore people and has covered 77 percent of those in the 15 to 18 years age group with both doses.

In Ladakh, vaccination of Children in the age group of 12 to 14 started in Kargil Ladakh with Corbevax Vaccine. The Vaccination commenced from Munshi Habibullah Mission School Kargil like as in other parts of the country and in Kargil 3853 Students will be covered.

Telangana Health Minister Harish Rao has formally launched the COVID-19 vaccination for children between the age group of 12 to 14 years, at Khairatabad in Hyderabad. He asked people not to ignore taking vaccines with an excuse like Coronavirus will not affect them.

Stating that the virus has not disappeared completely, the minister asked everyone to take prior vaccines to ensure their health. He expressed happiness as the Hyderabad-based Biological E developed Corbevax vaccine is being given to children between 12-14 years age. It is expected that over 17 lakh children in the age group in the state will be given a vaccine against COVID-19.

Telangana State also launched today vaccination of preventive doses for all those who are above 60 years age irrespective of their comorbidities.

Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy kickstarted the vaccination drive for children in the age group of 12 to 14 years against coronavirus at KadirKamam Indira Gandhi Girls Higher Secondary School today. After inititating the drive Chief Minister Rengasamy said that the drive launched to cover approximately 50, 000 students in the union territory.

The Health Director Dr Sriramulu said that Puducherry received 56,400 doses of Corbevax vaccine initially to continue the drive without any break. Vaccination drive is going on in all primary health centres, government hospitals and other prominent places.