Vaccination for 15-18 age group begins today amid Covid Surge

New Delhi, Jan 03: As India strengthens its fight against COVID-19 , the vaccination drive for beneficiaries in the age bracket of 15-18 years will begin today (January 3, 2022) across the country.

Over 8 lakh teens have registered in the government's CoWin portal and all will get a dose of Covaxin.

Those with the birth year of 2007 or before will be eligible for vaccination and as per the Union Health Ministry, only Bharat Biotech's 'Covaxin' is to be administered in this population category.

In a televised address on December 25, 2021, the prime minister Narendra Modi said the government was following scientific advice in the vaccination drive against COVID-19 . "Vaccination will start in the country for children aged between 15 to 18 years from 3 January 2022," he said.

The Prime Minister added that the move would aid in education normalization in schools and will reduce the worry of parents with school-going children.

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, which has been granted approval for restricted use in an emergency situation in the age group between 12 and 18 years, is the only vaccine available for children.

The Drugs Controller General of India granted emergency use authorisation to the indigenously-developed Covaxin for children above 12 years with certain conditions earlier this week.

As per the Union health ministry's guidelines,

• Beneficiaries can self-register online through an existing account on CoWIN using their school ID cards.
• Children can use their parents' existing CoWIN accounts for registration.
• They can also register after creating a new account through a unique mobile number.
• Such beneficiaries can also be registered onsite by the verifier/vaccinator.
• Appointments can be booked online or onsite (walk-in).