Government of India allows Vaccination for 15 -18 Years

Tags: National News

In an address to the nation on 25 December 2021, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi announced a host of measures to tackle the danger of Omicron variant of Coronavirus in the coming future.

Highlights of his speech 

•  Children aged between 15 and 18 will now be vaccinated in the country. It will be launched on Monday, January 3, in 2022.
• Booster doses of vaccine will be given to the frontline workers from 10 January 2022.
•  Senior Citizens of 60 years and above suffering from co -morbidity will be given a booster dose on the advice of their doctors from 10 January 2022
• Vaccination for corona started in India from 16 January 2021 and the first vaccine was given to AIIMS Delhi, Safai Karamchari  Mr. Mukesh Kumar .

What is a booster dose?

• According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), booster dose is given to a vaccinated population which has received the  necessary dose  of the approved Corona vaccine .
• It is given to the vaccinated population whose immunity and clinical protection has fallen below a rate deemed sufficient in that population. The objective of a booster dose is to restore vaccine effectiveness. 

What is co-morbidities?

• Co-morbidity means more than one illness or disease occurring in one person at the same time and multimorbidity means more than two illnesses or diseases occurring in the same person at the same time.
• Common co-morbid conditions in older people include heart disease, hypertension, respiratory disease, mental health problems (including dementia), joint disease, diabetes and sensory impairment.

Who are the frontline workers?

• The professional workers who are working in public and are most likely to contract corona virus while performing their public duty are called frontline workers. The Government of India has made a list of personnel who it considers as frontline workers for the purpose of Corona vaccination.
• According to the Government of India there are around 30 crore frontline workers in the country.
• They include police, civil defence, home guards personnel,paramilitary personnel, municipal workers ,disaster management professionals,fire safety personnel and prison staffers. 

 Corona Vaccine timeline in India:

Keeping in mind the availability of the approved Corona vaccine in India ,the Government of India started vaccination against corona in phases. 

First Phase 

It was started on 16 January 2021 and it was given to the frontline workers like medical staff, policemen etc . The frontline workers were offered either Covaxin vaccine Developed indigenously by Bharat Biotech and ICMR  or Covishield vaccines manufactured by Serum Institute of India 

Second Phase 

From 1 March 2021, registration started for resident Indians of 60 years or above. From 1 April 2021, residents between the age of 45 years and 60 years with one or more co-morbidities were eligible to take the corona vaccine.

Third Phase 

From 1 May 2021 all the residents who were 18 years and above were eligible for corona vaccine.

Fourth Phase 

• Starting from 3 January 2022 children between  15 -18 years are eligible for vaccination 
• Booster dose for fully vaccinated frontline workers and residents of 60 years and above suffering from co-morbidities from 10 January 2022.