Arrangements in place for administering Covid vaccines to children aged 15-18 years: Kerala Health Min

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that Covid vaccination for children aged between 15-18 years will begin from January 3.
Kerala Heath Minister Veena George
Kerala Heath Minister Veena George

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Health Minister Veena George said that all arrangements are in place for administering the Covid vaccine to children aged between 15 and 18 years. “Around 15 lakh students in this age group are eligible for vaccination. All arrangements will be made for the same as per the guidelines to be issued by the Union Health Ministry. Priority will be given in vaccinating the children after January 2,” she said. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that Covid vaccination for children aged between 15-18 years will begin from January 3. “The health department will ensure the safety of children who will be administered the vaccines. We are planning to complete the vaccination among children faster, in the backdrop of the Omicron variant of Covid,” said Veena.

The state had earlier written to the Centre on the need for vaccinating children, even when the health experts were divided on the opinion. It had also demanded the booster dose for an eligible population much before the Prime Minister announced the same for frontline workers and people with comorbidities.

The state has 5.55 lakh health workers, 5.71 lakh Covid front line workers and 59.29 lakh people above the age group of 60 years. The state has a stock of 26 lakh doses of the Covid vaccine. A total of 97.58% of the eligible population were administered the first dose and 76.67% with the second dose. At the national level, it is 89.1 and 61.51%, respectively.

20 more Omicron cases reported in state

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state has reported 19 more Omicron cases on Sunday, in addition to a case detected on Saturday. The cases were reported from Ernakulam (11), Thiruvananthapuram (6), Thrissur (1) and Kannur (1).  In Ernakulam, the cases were detected among returnees from the United Kingdom (3), the UAE (2), Ireland (2), Spain (1), Canada (1), Qatar (1) and the Netherlands (1).

In Thiruvananthapuram, the cases were reported among three people in the primary contact list and returnees from the UK, Ghana and Qatar. An Omicron-infected person each in Thrissur and Kannur came from the UAE. A 51-year-old man from Kannur who was in the primary contact list of a neighbour was detected with the Omicron variant during a random surveillance test on Saturday. The total number of Omicron cases in the state reached 57. 

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