Slow start to coronavirus vaccination drive for 12-14-year age group

Lack of awareness, along with the ongoing examination season, led to a slow start of the Covid-19 vaccination drive for children aged between 12 and 14 years on Wednesday, which coincided with the National Immunisation Day. Only 136,886 doses were administered across the country to children in this age group, according to data from CoWIN.

The upcoming Holi weekend could also to be a dampener for the drive, but vaccinations are expected to pick up gradually with school exams getting over, and awareness building among parents. On Wednesday, vaccinations picked up in the afternoon, with children coming to the centres after school. Vaccination centres were largely empty in the first half of the day.
 

In South Delhi’s Greater Kailash 1, not a single beneficiary visited the Pahariwala Gurdwara vaccination centre till noon where empty chairs were seen lined up as frontline workers chit-chatted.
 

A dingy corner near the parking area of the Pahariwala Gurdwara served as the vaccination site for the young beneficiaries.

Vaccination officer Pradeep Kumar blamed lack of awareness behind the poor turnout. “Parents are not aware of this vaccination drive. Moreover, I feel it is a school day that's why no one has arrived,” he said.
 

Around 600,000-700,000 children in Delhi are eligible for vaccination in this age bracket, and the city has already received 631,400 doses of Biological E’s Corbevax vaccine, which requires two doses given 28 days apart.
 

In Mumbai, about 400,000 children are estimated to be eligible and the city has received about 130,000 doses so far. Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the doses were enough for the next few days. Mumbai has started with 12 vaccination centres, and will gradually add more as supplies improve. Around 1.3 million doses have arrived in Maharashtra which has an estimated 6.5 million children in this age group.
 

In Ahmedabad some schools and health centres had prepared well in advance. "Parents were informed in advance to come with their children with identity and age proofs and students were given slots, starting with higher standards of ninth, followed by eighth and seventh. Hence, the vaccination drive was smooth, with a healthy turnout," said Smita Das, principal of Sakar English School in Ahmedabad. Over 300 students were inoculated with the first dose of Biological E's Corbevax vaccine and no instance of side-effect was reported.
 

In Gujarat, over 2,500 vaccinators have been deployed at more than 2,000 centres even for about 2.26 million beneficiaries in the 12-14 age group.
 

According to state government officials, Gujarat has over 2.3 million doses of Corbevax vaccine for the age group. The state government's education as well as women and child development departments have collaborated with schools across the state, apart from state-run centres, for the drive.
 

In UP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath distributed chocolates among young beneficiaries at the Lucknow Civil Hospital. Nearly 8.5 million children are eligible for the doses in the state, with about 200,000 of them in Lucknow alone. Vaccination centres have been decorated with posters and banners to keep the children in good humour.
 

The drive, however, is expected to gain momentum after Holi. Lucknow resident Pravir Rai said he will get his 12-year-old son vaccinated after Holi, while 13-year-old Chhavi Saxena was excited about the vaccination drive and said the vaccine was imperative to protect against the disease.
 

For young children who have been deprived of their “normal” routine during the pandemic, vaccination came as a ticket to having fun. Friends Sachin Madhavan and Madhav T from SRM Nightingale Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai’s Mambalam, who, for the past two years, were always warned by their parents against venturing out, said they were thrilled at the prospects of being able to step out, finally. Madhav T, who aspires to become a doctor, feels that vaccination is vital, as it helps us in not taking the virus back to our homes.
 

On Wednesday, as they registered their names at the school for vaccination, they almost got an answer to their parents’ worries. In Tamil Nadu, about 2.12 million children are eligible and the state administration has already distributed around 2.16 million doses of Corbevax across districts.
 

West Bengal, however, has decided to start the drive for the young children after a few days. West Bengal has not started vaccination today. The training for the vaccination ended today, said state health department officials. It may start in a few days, they indicated.
 

(With inputs from PTI)