Covid vaccination of eligible children a priority, PM Modi tells CMs

Special campaigns needed in schools; parents worried about increased number of cases

As Covid-19 cases rise in various parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the state chief ministers to review the situation. The PM said that vaccinating all eligible children at the earliest is a priority for the government and specialised programmes needed to be conducted in schools to achieve this feat.

Modi asserted, “It is clear that the Corona challenge is not fully over.”

The PM said that Omicron and its sub-variants can create problems as evident by the case of many countries of Europe. The sub-variants are causing many surges in many countries. The PM said that India has been able to handle the situation better than many countries, but the increasing cases in some states in the last two weeks show that we need to stay alert.

Citing the rise in Covid-19 cases in some states in the last two weeks, he said there was a need to remain alert. He spoke about the need for states to regularly monitor and report data, maintain effective surveillance, upgrade infrastructure and utilise funds given by the Centre.

He added that, “Our priority is to vaccinate all eligible children at the earliest. Special campaigns will also be needed in schools. Teachers and parents should be aware of this.”

The Prime Minister mentioned that schools have opened after a long time and some parents are worried by the increased number of cases in some places.

On Tuesday, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved two vaccines Covaxin and Corbevax for use in children below 12 years.

However, India does not have any immediate plans to further expand its vaccination programme to include children below 12 years. Sources in the Union Ministry of Health said, “There were no plans yet to include children below 12 years in the vaccination drive. There is no scientific evidence about their vulnerability.”

"Our scientists and experts are continuously monitoring the national and global situation. We have to work on their suggestions with a pre-emptive, pro-active and collective approach," the PM said in the review meeting.

He stressed on the strategy of test, track and treat. In the current situation of coronavirus, it is necessary that we have a 100 per cent RT-PCR test for patients admitted in hospitals who are serious influenza cases.

Several chief ministers, including West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee, Chhattisgarh's Bhupesh Baghel, Delhi's Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab's Bhagwant Mann, participated in the interaction.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that in recent days, Delhi has witnessed a high positivity rate. He also spoke about masks having been made mandatory again. Haryana Chief Minister said that a high number of cases in the state is mainly being seen around Delhi, in the cities of Gurugram and Faridabad.

India recorded 2,927 fresh infections in a day which pushed the case tally to 4,30,65,496 while the active caseload increased to 16,279, according to Union Health Ministry data on Wednesday.