Day 2: Over 37.5 lakh children receive 1st shot of Covid vaccine

New Delhi, Jan. 4 (PTI): Over 37.5 lakh children received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine Tuesday, the second day of the inoculation drive for those in the age group of 15-18 years, according to Union Health Ministry.

With more than 87 lakh doses being administered till 7 pm on Tuesday, of which 37,51,524 were for children, the cumulative number of doses administered in the country has reached over 147.62 crore (1,47,62,53,454), according to the ministry’s data.

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said.

The total number of children in the age group of 15 to 18 years who have received the first shot in the two days has now gone up to 81,45,038.

The vaccine option against Covid-19 for children in the age group of 15-18 years is Covaxin only. All those whose birth year is 2007 or before, shall be eligible, according to guidelines issued by the Union Health Ministry recently.

The registration for this category of beneficiaries opened up on Saturday and according to the guidelines they can self-register, online through an existing account on Co-WIN or can also register by creating a new account through a unique mobile number. This facility is available for all eligible citizens presently.

Such beneficiaries can also be registered onsite by the verifier/vaccinator in facilitated registration mode. Appointments can be booked online or onsite (walk-in).

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2.

The next phase of Covid-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1.

The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.

The next phase of Covid-19 vaccination has commenced from Monday for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.