Delhi gears up to inoculate 1 million teens as vaccine net widens to ages 15+

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[google-translator]

The Delhi government is all set to begin inoculating children aged between 15 and 18 from Monday morning, with 159 vaccination centres set up for the initial phase of the drive, said officials aware of the matter.

Vaccination centres for children will be open from 9am till 5pm, and will administer doses of Covaxin. The list of centres can be accessed at the Delhi health department’s website: www.dshm.delhi.gov.in.

Currently, according to government data there are nearly 1.01 million children in the 15-18 age group in Delhi, who are eligible to get the shot.

A senior official of the health department on Sunday said that all 159 centres are ready for the drive. These centres have been decorated with balloons, posters and have been stacked with books to keep beneficiaries entertained while they wait before and after their shots, the official said.

“Parents can get their children registered on the CoWin portal or just walk in tomorrow (Monday) to their nearest vaccination centres. Some of the centres are in the same locations as the regular vaccination centres, but there will be a separate entry and exit for children. The idea is to make it as comfortable and inviting as we possibly can so that more children of this age group can come forward and get the shot,” the official added.

A senior district official confirmed that a beneficiary need not be accompanied by either a parent or a guardian. However, the guardian or parent can enter the vaccination booth while the jab is being administered, if they wish to, said the official.

“School ID cards will be accepted as identity proof (in addition to already accepted IDs like Aadhar card). However, all eligible beneficiaries can also walk in for registration to any nearby designated vaccination centre with their ID proof and get a shot,” said a note sent to all the concerned administrations of vaccination centres in the city.

Teachers have been asked to inform parents to take their children to the nearest centre and get them vaccinated.

“In case the school itself has been identified as a CVC for the 15 to 18 age group, parents may accompany the children to the school and facilitation in terms of provision of a separate room, staff for queue management and verifier should be provided by the head of the schools,” said the government’s directive.

If the school is not a vaccination centre, the government has asked principals to ensure temporary camps are arranged by getting in touch with the district immunisation officer, so that the eligible students get jabbed. In such cases, mobile teams will be deployed for sufficient days depending upon the number of children to be vaccinated.

“The children can be informed and mobilised to school on the designated days since classes are currently being held online and students are not coming to school. The head of the school will provide the necessary space, staff for queue management, verifier and computer/internet connectivity for these days,” a senior health official said on condition of anonymity.

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said that the Capital is equipped to vaccinate 300,000 children every day, adding that all children in this age group can be inoculated within 10 days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on December 25 that children aged 15-18 will start receiving Covid-19 vaccinations from January 3, and health and frontline workers will start getting a third precautionary jab from January 10.

The decision to inoculate children above 15 years of age was taken on the advice of technical experts on immunisation looking into the scientific evidence generated on children’s vaccination against Covid-19.

Government officials said that out of the 159 centres across the city, 17 are in central Delhi, 15 in east Delhi, 18 in New Delhi, 11 in north Delhi, 16 in northeast Delhi, 12 in northwest and 10 centres are located in Shahdara district.

Eleven centres are in south Delhi, 13 are in southeast, 21 centres are in southwest Delhi and the remaining 15 centres are in west Delhi.

A senior official from the south district said that each district has prepared a list of the centres under their jurisdiction and are extensively circulating this list among resident welfare associations (RWA), publishing it in public places and posting the addresses of these centres on social media to ensure maximum reach.

“We need to reach out to as many children as possible and we are doing that through parents, RWAs, social media,” the official said.

Another official of the health department also said that health care staffers posted at these centres have also been given special training to inoculate children.

“It’s not just about administering the jab, but also communicating with children. The training has covered all aspects of the vaccination process,” the official said.

Some of the centres where children will be vaccinated are Hindu Rao Hospital, Giridhari Lal Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, Maulana Azad Medical College, EDMC Baldev Park, Shaheed Capt Amit Verma School, Inderpuri; Charak Palika Hospital, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Bawana; NDMC School, Avantika sector-2; CGHS Pushp Vihar, Safdarjung Hospital; Dada Dev Hospital; and Sarvodaya Vidhyalaya co-ed, Hiran Kudna.

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