Covid Vaccination for 15-17 age group starts in India

Tags: National News

• The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare rolled out the first dose of vaccination for teenagers in the 15-17 age group in India on January 3, 2022. Those born in 2005, 2006, and 2007 are eligible for getting jabbed in this group.
• Registration for this age group started on January 1, 2022.
• The only covid vaccine approved for inoculation in this age group is Covaxin by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech. This is an inactivated vaccine with the second dose after a gap of 28 days.
• Zydus Cadila’s ZyCov-D also received Emergency Usage Listing(EUL) from Drugs Controller General of India(DCGI) on August 20 for vaccination of children aged 12 and above, but this is not included in the government’s public immunization programme for children which started on the 3rd January. Zydus is India’s first needle-free DNA Vaccine.
• Beneficiaries can either take appointment online through the CoWin application or can directly walk-in at the notified centers for their dosage.
• Student-ID card is accepted as proof of identity.
• Parental Consent Form is also required for this age group.
• In many states, the vaccination programme is rolled out in collaboration with schools and pre-university colleges.
• As per CoWin dashboard, 4199584 youngsters were jabbed on the first day of the children’s mass vaccination programme.