Delhi govt readies 159 centres for vaccines to 15-18 year olds

The Delhi government has prepared a list of 159 vaccination centres across the city where beneficiaries between 15-18 years will be vaccinated from January 3.

New Delhi: Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said the city has the infrastructure to vaccinate 300,000 people a day even as the registrations for Covid-19 jabs to those between 15-18 years age group began on the CoWIN system.

New Delhi, India - January 01, 2022: A health worker collects swab samples for Covid-19 test, at Sarojini Nagar Market, in New Delhi, India, on Saturday, January 01, 2022. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times)

The vaccination drive will be carried out from January 3 between 9am to 5pm at centres located in selected schools, hospitals and health facilities across the Capital.

“The Delhi government is fully prepared to vaccinate the children between 15-18 years of age,” Jain said in a briefing on Saturday.

Though authorities plan to prepare separate registration desks for the teenagers, sites being used for vaccinating adults may also be used to administer doses to them, officials said. As on Saturday, Covid 19 vaccines were administered at 1,365 sites, of which 1,247 were government establishments.

On December 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced inclusion of 15 to 18 year olds in the national Covid immunisation programme from January 3, 2022. The decision was taken based on the advice of technical experts on immunisation looking into the scientific evidence generated globally on children’s vaccination against Covid-19. The eligible teenagers will only be given Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

“There will be a separate wing where children will be vaccinated. The entry and exit to these centres will be separate from the regular vaccination points. We are also getting schools to encourage children to come forward and get vaccinated from Monday,” said the official who asked not to be named.

Some of the centres where children will be vaccinated are Hindu Rao Hospital, Giridhari Lal Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, Maulana Azad Medical College, Charak Palika Hospital, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Bawana, Safdarjung Hospital. The full list of 159 centres can be accessed at dshm.delhi.gov.in.

As part of the preparations, the Delhi government’s directorate of education (DoE) on Friday wrote to schools in the capital, directing them to inform parents to get their children in the 15-18 age group vaccinated as soon as possible. In its directive to both government and private schools, the department said that it was imperative for all government, government-aided, and private unaided school students aged 15 to 18 years to get vaccinated on an immediate basis.

Outlining the crucial role that school heads could play in ensuring prompt vaccination of children, the DoE has asked schools to identify a nodal In-charge at the school to coordinate the vaccination drive . “Class teachers of the relevant classes/sections must ensure that parents are informed to take their children to nearest vaccination site earmarked for vaccination of children between 15 to 18 years of age,” the DoE directive said.

AK Jha, principal of Government Co-ed Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Rohini, said the school has already sent messages to parents. Jha said the school was in touch with doctors and exploring the possibility of carrying out vaccination through mobile vans. “A mobile van can be positioned at the school for a fixed number of days. This will allow us to vaccinate children in batches,” said Jha.

Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka, said the school will be holding a vaccination camp on after tying up with a private hospital. “We have written to a private hospital in the vicinity and the district administration for holding a vaccination camp. Starting from Monday, we will be holding webinars laying emphasis on the need for the vaccination of children. We will also rope in children to create awareness videos about vaccination to convince parents who are a little hesitant about vaccination,” said Acharya, who is also the chairperson of the National Progressive School Conference (NPSC) which has 122 Delhi schools as members.

Dr Suneela Garg, professor and a member Lancet Commission Covid India Task Force, said as per 2011 census there are over 900,000 children in the Capital between 15-18 age group. Dr Garg said many under the 15-18 age group may be at risk due to obesity and other comorbidities, and that they also have higher chances of getting infected when they go to schools.