Bhubaneswar, Jan 3: Covid-19 vaccination drive for teens between the age of 15 and 18 years kicked off from Monday at several dedicated session sites across Odisha. The timing for vaccination has been fixed between 8 am to 1 pm, said reports. Simultaneously, like other States Omicron variant cases are multiplying in Odisha too.
A total of 939 session sites have been set up across the State while the government aims to complete the first dose of vaccination for 15 to 18 year teens in a month. Teenagers can register for the vaccination through CoWIN app and also prefer for on-site registration.
As per the directions issued by the Drugs Controller General of India earlier, indigenously-developed Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin will only be administered to the children in this age group.
As many as 35 vaccination centres have been opened for the inoculation of 15 to 18 year minors in Bhubaneswar, the State capital of Odisha.
Director of Capital Hospital, Dr. Laxmidhar Sahoo informed media on the commencement of the fresh vaccination drive of teens. “Beneficiaries who have enrolled their names on the Co-WIN portal as well as those who have opted for offline registration are being given shots. We have targeted to complete the vaccination process in a month. The immunization of 15-18 years age group is very essential as they are very very active and susceptible to spread the infection more,” Sahoo told reporters.
Teens and their parents are feeling happy and secured after vaccination in session sites.
The Union Health Ministry has said that teens born on January 1, 2007 or before will be eligible for vaccination under this category. The States have been asked to ensure that there are separate queues and vaccination teams for the 15-18 age group to avoid confusion with the vaccination of adults.
On the other hand, a total of 23 new cases of Omicron variant of Covid- 19 were detected in Odisha on Sunday. The total number of cases with the new variant has reached 37 in the state, said Niranjan Mishra, Director of Public Health.
