Union Health Ministry has advised states and Union territories to train vaccinators for the administration of vaccines to children aged 15-18 years.
The ministry also advised that dedicated centres can be established for the same, and only Covaxin will be administered with a proper training, ANI reported, citing sources.
COVID-19 vaccination of children in the age group of 15-18 years will be started from January 3 next year. The estimated population to be covered in this category is seven to eight crores.
Making the announcement on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this will reduce the worries of children going to schools and colleges and their parents, and boost the fight against the pandemic, adding that the move is also likely to aid in normalisation of teaching in schools.
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin will be the only COVID-19 vaccine that will be administered to children between 15 to 18 years age group from next month, according to new guidelines issued by Union Health Ministry.
“For all those aged 15 years or more, option for vaccination would only be available for Covaxin as this is the only vaccine with Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for the age-group 15-17,” the ministry said in its guidelines issued on Monday.
The guidelines will come into effect from January 3 and will be reviewed from time to time.
All those aged 15 years or more will be able to register on Co-WIN. Beneficiaries can self-register, online through an existing account on Co-WIN or can also register by creating a new account through a unique mobile number, this facility is available for all eligible citizens presently.
Such beneficiaries can also be registered onsite by the verifier/vaccinator in facilitated registration mode, the guidelines read. Appointments can be booked online or onsite (walk-in).
