Vaccination Has Started For 15-18years-Know When & How To Book A Slot

As per Prime Minister’s announcement on X-Mas day in December,2021 the vaccination for the age group 15-18 years is scheduled to begin from today, i.e. January 3, 2022. 

Amid a massive spike in cases due to what now looks like a third wave of Covid-19 in the country, wherein India has recorded nearly 1.3 lakh fresh cases during the week (December 27- January 2) which has been the sharpest weekly surge in the infections since the beginning of pandemic in the country, the vaccination for 15-18 age group has been considered a welcome move by one and all.

The Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had informed that only ‘Covaxin’ will be administered in this age group and additional doses will be sent to all States, Union Territories.The potential beneficiaries can register themselves on the Co-WIN portal w.e.f from January 1,2022 or they can avail of a walk-in (onsite) registration from today. According to the official release by the Health Ministry, those with the birth year of 2007 or before will be eligible for vaccination under this category. 

The established protocols regarding COVID vaccination to be followed for the 15-18 year age group include:

• Following the immunization the beneficiaries are to wait for half-an-hour when they will be monitored for the adverse event.

• These beneficiaries will be eligible for the second dose only after 28 days of the first dose.

As per the  Registrar General of India’s figures, the cohort size for vaccination in this category is around 10 lakh. A large number of schools and other educational institutions have been used as Covid vaccination centers including 61 Govt schools and municipal schools, apart from 3 colleges including Shyam Lal College and Vivekananda College in East Delhi . 159 Govt. vaccination centres have been designated for vaccination of teens. 20 Centres are operating from hospitals like AIIMS, Safdarjung, Maulana Azad Medical College etc. Besides the Private hospitals too have geared up for this phase of the exercise. The Centre has advised states and Union Territories to provide separate vaccination centers and teams for the 15-18 age group to avoid confusion in the administration of the right vaccines. 

The Delhi Government’s Directorate of Education issued a circular directing heads of schools to play an important role in this exercise of vaccination for the 15-18 age group. Each school has been asked to identify a nodal in-charge to coordinate the activity. The class teachers of teens in this particular age group have been directed to ensure that parents are informed to take their children to the nearest vaccination sites.  Doctors too have urged parents to bring their children for vaccination as soon as possible, amid a fear of a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, to lend them protection from it. 

Registration Details for Parents/Caregivers/ Eligible Candidates:

Self-Registration:

The eligible citizens can register themselves online through an existing account on Co-WIN or by creating a new account through a unique mobile number.

Go to http://selfregistration/cowin.gov.in to register and choose your schedule.

Onsite: 

The eligible citizens can also be registered onsite by a verifier or vaccinator in the facilitated registration mode.

Student’s Registration:

Students can register on the portal for vaccination using their student identity cards in case they do not have the Aadhaar or other ID cards.

The parents/caregivers can speak to their Doctor for post-vaccination care and in cases where their child has comorbidities. They can also consult a therapist who will guide them on how to prepare their child for vaccination.