Bhubaneswar: Odisha government Tuesday said the state is fully prepared to start the Covid-19 vaccination for children in the age group of 12-14 years from Wednesday. This information was given by a senior Health and Family Welfare Department official here Tuesday.
The vaccination for this group will start from schools in the first phase and latter be extended to other places. Children will be vaccinated with ‘Corbevax’ manufactured by Biological E. Limited, Hyderabad. “Children born before March 15, 2010, can take the Covid vaccine. Birth certificate or any other relevant documents is mandatory. Registration can be done in both online/offline modes,” said Family Welfare Director Bijay Panigrahi. He is also the nodal officer of the immunization programme.
Panigrahi said 15.21 lakh children will be given jabs by specially trained 600 health workers. The gap between the two doses will be 28 days. About 15.47 lakh vaccine doses are available with Odisha now, he said.
The children can register either with their family members or separately. Student ID cards can be used in case Aadhaar cards are not available. Four members of a family can register against one mobile number, the official stated.
Apart from health workers, the school teachers will also help in the vaccination drive. The Chief District Medical Officers (CDMOs) have been directed to run the drive during the school hours in the first phase. The Education Department will coordinate with the SC-ST Department to streamline the drive, Panigrahi stated.
After schools, Panigrahi said, dedicated centres will be gradually set up for vaccination of the children in the next phases. He informed, with the Centre removing condition of comorbidity, all above 60 years of age will also be eligible for precaution dose from Wednesday. Earlier vaccination of children between 15 and 18 had begun January 3.
