The district administration is prepared to vaccinate children in the age group of 15-18 years. The drive, which will begin on January 3, entails inoculating children in this age group with Covaxin at schools itself.
The registration process for vaccinating the children against COVID-19 on the CoWin portal began on January 1. However, children willing to do it on the spot, with parental consent, too, can get the jab. This initiative comes at a time when the fear of the spread of a new variant of COVID-19, Omicron, looms large.
Speaking to The Hindu , Deputy Director of Health Services A. Subramani said that around 1,26,800 children in the district were the target group for the drive. “The target number includes students studying at vocational training institutes,” he said. The number was arrived at in consultation with the School Education department.
A total of 75,000 doses of Covaxin were available to inoculate the students and more will be allotted as the need arises. Each of the 16 blocks in the district will have anywhere between one to three health teams, consisting of nurses and doctors to vaccinate the students. “The team will go from one school to another; the students or their parents will not have to travel anywhere to get the dose,” Dr. Subramani said. A total of 45 such teams had been formed. Districts with a larger number of schools would be given priority.
A meeting was organised with the Departments of School Education and Social Welfare and Integrated Child Development Services. “While many students have registered through CoWin, we will also be permitting walk-ins as many would not have access to the internet,” a health official said.
