Even as the administration has been appealing to residents to get vaccinated at the earliest in view of the fresh surge in Covid cases, only 3% of the eligible population in the 15-18 age group have so far turned up to get inoculated. The vaccination drive for this group began on January 3.
As per the health department, there are about 2.15 lakh teens in the 15-18 age group but only 7,604 (3.54%) have been vaccinated until Sunday. The reason for the slow start to teen vaccinations is being attributed to hesitancy, both among the teens as well as their parents.
Due to the low response, the administration has also decreased the number of teen vaccination sites from 15 to six, though officials say the number will be increased in the coming days if more teens start showing up.
Jitesh, a BRS Nagar resident, said, “I have an 18-year-old son and a 15-year-old nephew. Though both are eligible for vaccination, we have decided to wait for some time and observe. We are apprehensive since the vaccination anyways does not guarantee that we won’t be infected once jabbed.”
Simar, 17, a resident of Model Town, said, “I had gone for vaccination on January 3. Though the administration had promised to set up separate centres for children, there was a heavy rush at the centre on the day, so we decided to return home. Now, we are staying put as the Covid cases are increasing and we fear that we may get infected when we go for vaccination. The department should set up special camps at school for teens.”
{{/usCountry}}Simar, 17, a resident of Model Town, said, “I had gone for vaccination on January 3. Though the administration had promised to set up separate centres for children, there was a heavy rush at the centre on the day, so we decided to return home. Now, we are staying put as the Covid cases are increasing and we fear that we may get infected when we go for vaccination. The department should set up special camps at school for teens.”
{{/usCountry}}Civil surgeon Dr SP Singh said the department is working to spread awareness among the 15-18 age group and the education department has also been roped in to motivate the eligible students. “Children are more active on social networks so they pick up all sorts of information online. The state government is planning to organise vaccination camps in schools. The number of vaccination camps for the 15-18 age group is less these days because of the low response. The number of camps will be increased depending on the demand,” said Dr Singh.
Non-approval of Covaxin by other countries also a hurdle
Dr Singh said that only Covaxin is being administered to children as per the government guidelines. The department had also received queries from children and their parents on whether Covaxin is approved by other countries like Canada, Australia, USA etc, as many children in this category move abroad nowadays. There are some countries that have not yet given approval to Covaxin and that matter has to be taken up at Union government level.