COVID vaccination of 15-18 age group children in Odisha to be completed in a month: Official

Bhubaneswar: The COVID-19 vaccination of children belonging to 15-18 age group in Odisha will be completed within a month, said State Health & Family Welfare Director Bijay Panigrahi today.

A total of 23.65 lakh children in Odisha are eligible for vaccination in this phase. While registration will start from January 1, 2022, administration of vaccine will commence from January 3, 2022, said Panigrahi.

Around 14 lakh doses of COVAXIN are currently available in the state for this purpose. The district administrations have been directed to open vaccination centres as per requirement. If necessary, arrangement for vaccination centres will be made at schools, the official said.

Vaccine to the children will be administered at the centres between 8 am and 1 pm. The Health Department has advised that parents/ guardians of the children should come to the vaccination centres with them, he said.

Panigrahi further informed that around 10.47 lakh persons above 60 years of age with comorbidities are eligible to receive the precaution dose of the vaccine in Odisha. Similarly, the precaution dose will be administered to around 7 lakh frontline workers in the state, he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be administered to healthcare and frontline workers in the country from 10th January, 2022. This has been done in the light of the amount of time the frontline workers and healthcare workers spend in the service of COVID patients.

The PM has also announced that option of precaution dose will be available for senior citizens above 60 years of age with co-morbidities on the advice of their doctors from 10th January, 2022.

He also said that vaccination will start for the children in the age group of 15-18 years from 3rd January, 2022.