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| CoWIN registration from today, ensure only 12-year-olds and above are jabbed, walk-in slots will be available, Centre tells states | | | agencies
NEW DELHI, Mar 15: The health ministry on Tuesday wrote to state governments and UTs asking them to evolve novel strategies to vaccinate school-going children aged 12 to 14 years, including those in madrassas, starting tomorrow as the national Covid-19 inoculation drive is expanded to cover more children. The estimated population of 12 to 14-year-olds in India as of March 1, 2021, is over 47 lakh. Issuing detailed guidelines for the process today, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in a letter to states, said that CoWIN registration for 12-14-year-olds will be open from tomorrow, and walk-in slots will also be available.
"Self-registration through an existing CoWIN account of a family member or by creating a new account through a unique mobile number (the facility is available for all eligible citizens presently). Appointments can be booked online or onsite (walk-in) for 12 to 14-year-olds. For such beneficiaries, the option for vaccine would be only Corbevax."
The health ministry said free vaccination of 12 to 14-year-olds would be done through dedicated vaccination sessions at earmarked Covid-19 vaccination centres to avoid their unintended vaccination with any other Covid-19 vaccine except Corbevax.
The health secretary further asked states and UTs to see that since Corbevax is approved only for those above 12 years of age, it should be ensured that children above 12 years of age are vaccinated -- i.e only those born on or not before March 15, 2010.
"The vaccinator and verifier should ensure that beneficiaries less than 12 years of age on the date of vaccination are not vaccinated even if they are registered on CoWIN", Bhushan's letter says.
So far, India has inoculated 95 per cent of 15 to 18-year-olds with one dose and over 80 per cent with both doses. With most of the 15-18-year-olds covered, the government decided to expand the inoculation drive to protect younger children aged 12 to 14 years.
People aged 60 years and above will be eligible for booster doses from tomorrow whether or not they have any co-morbidity.
In his letter, Bhushan also asked states to consider school level inoculations of 12-14-year-olds.
"As the 12 to 14 year age group constitutes school-going children, complementary strategies may be formulated to ensure their vaccination irrespective of whether the children are enrolled in state, central, aided, un-aided or private schools and other non-formal schools like madrassas." |
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