CHENNAI: Five per cent of children in the 15-18 age group were given the second dose of Covid-19 vaccination in the past four days. Health Minister Ma Subramanian said the reopening of schools have helped the government vaccinate students at a brisk pace.
The State has already inoculated 26,61,866 children aged between 15 and 18 with the first dose. This accounts for nearly 80 per cent of the total eligible population in the age group. The recommended interval between the two doses is 28 days.
“The Tamil Nadu government started vaccinating the children on January 3. The total eligible population was estimated at 33.46 lakh. The camps in schools helped in fast-tracking the process. Reopening of schools will further boost the numbers,” said the minister.
The health department has also been administering precautionary booster doses to frontline workers and senior citizens. Meanwhile, the 21st mega vaccination camp held on Saturday inoculated 7.91 lakh people. According to the health department data, the State vaccinated a total of 7,91,889 people, of which 1,86,785 received the first dose and 5,77,397, the second. As many as 27,707 people have received the booster dose (precaution dose) so far.
After the 21st mega vaccination camp, the vaccination rate stood at 90.78 per cent and 70.02 per cent for the first and second dose respectively. The first 20 mega vaccination camps inoculated nine crore people. There will be no vaccination drive in the State on Sunday, a press release added.