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12-14 age group: Drive to inoculate 8 lakh kids in Punjab from Wednesday
The move comes two months after the Union health ministry expanded the campaign to cover adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years, who were allocated Covaxin, the country’s first indigenous Covid vaccine
Chandigarh : Around 8 lakh children in the age group of 12-14 will be inoculated against Covid in Punjab in a special vaccination drive starting Wednesday.
According to the data shared by the Union health ministry with the state government citing Registrar General of India figures, 4.28 lakh children to be given jabs have attained the age of 12 and 4.27 lakh are 13 or above. All beneficiaries born on or before March 15, 2010, or say children who have attained the age of 12 years on the date of vaccination, will be able to register on CoWin app.
The move comes two months after the Union health ministry expanded the campaign to cover adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years, who were allocated Covaxin, the country’s first indigenous Covid vaccine.
Sate nodal officer for Covid-19 Dr Rajesh Bhaskar said the health department has made special arrangements for the drive. Teams to be posted at special vaccination centres will be in addition to those who are giving shots to the other age groups, he added. “We have also planned a special drive in state schools after few days,” he said.
However, in Punjab, parents are sceptical of the move as children in this age group will be given Corbevax, manufactured by Bilogical E Limited, Telangana. The state health department is getting queries from parents, especially those who travel to foreign countries frequently, that if they can avail shots of other vaccine because Corbevax is still to get the World Health Organisation’s approval.
Corbevax is said to be the first indigenously developed protein subunit vaccine against Covid-19. Two doses of the vaccine need to be taken by an individual 28 days apart to complete the schedule.
The vaccination in the age group of 15-18 years is already on in which 8,73,865 have been given the first dose and 3,48,439 have got the second jab.
Punjab logs 40 fresh Covid cases, 1 death
Punjab on Tuesday reported 40 fresh cases of Covid cases taking the infection tally to 7,58,793, according to a medical bulletin.
With one Covid-related fatality, the death toll in the state reached 17,736. The state’s positivity rate also came down to 0.29%, the bulletin said.
Among districts, Faridkot topped the list with 13 Covid cases followed by six in Fazilka and four in Pathankot. Active cases in the state have also come down to 260.
With 45 persons recovering from the virus, the number of cured persons in the state has reached 7,40,797, the bulletin said.
A total of 37,418 people were vaccinated in the state on Tuesday.
