Agencies
New Delhi, Dec 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said COVID-19 vaccination for children between the age of 15 to 18 years will begin from 3 January amid a steady rise in the cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 .
The prime minister also said precautionary doses will be given to healthcare and frontline workers from 10 January.
For those above 60 years with comorbidities, precaution doses will also be given from 10 January, said Modi.
Since the start of the year from 16 January till now, India has registered 141 crore vaccine doses, said the prime minister.
He further added that 61 percent of India’s population has received both the COVID-19 doses, while 90 percent received single dose.
Modi assured citizens that all possible preparations are in order to tackle increasing infections. He listed the number of hospital beds, oxygen beds available, and vaccination progress.
“ COVID-19 isn’t past us yet. Being careful is very important,” he said.
“Today, the nation has 18 lakh isolation beds, 5 lakh oxygen-supported beds, 1.4 lakh ICU beds, and 90,000 special beds for children. Today, we have over 3,000 functional PSA Oxygen plants and four lakh Oxygen cylinders have been provided to all states,” he said.
The prime minister also urged people to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour. “In India, many people have been found to be infected with Omicron. I would urge all of you not to panic, be careful and alert. Wear the mask and wash hands regularly.”
Highlighting the need to follow COVID-19 protocols like wearing masks, PM Modi said, “The experience of fighting the coronavirus global epidemic so far shows that following all the guidelines at the individual level is a great weapon to combat corona. And the second weapon is vaccination.”
Earlier, Bharat Biotech had submitted data from clinical trials in the 2-18 years age group for COVAXIN (BBV152) to Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
The data has been thoroughly reviewed by the CDSCO and Subject Experts Committee (SEC) and has provided their positive recommendations, the vaccine maker had said.
As per the Union Health Ministry, India has reported 7,189 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the nationwide case tally of the Omicron variant of coronavirus has reached 415. |
