76 applications pending with PMC for vaccination drive on school campus

As many as 20 schools in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits have opted for vaccination against Covid-19 on school premises

PUNE As many as 20 schools in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits have opted for vaccination against Covid-19 on school premises whereas 76 more schools have extended applications to the health department to start vaccination of students on the premise.

After schools reopened in June till July 9, around 3,802 students from 12 to 18 years of age have been inoculated at school premises by the PMC. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

According to the health department, there is 31 per cent coverage of beneficiaries between the age group of 12 and 15 years in PMC limits and 19 per cent second dose coverage for the same.

After schools reopened in June till July 9, around 3,802 students from 12 to 18 years of age have been inoculated at school premises by the PMC. Health department officials mentioned that out of 3,802 students, 709 students were from 15 to 18 years and 3,093 were from 12 to 15 years.

Dr Suryakaant Deokar, PMC immunisation officer, said that there are at present two teams working for vaccination on school premises.

“We have at present vaccination for school-going students at 20 schools in PMC and there are 70 more schools who have approached us. We will soon increase our manpower to cover more students in school premises to get inoculated who are between the age group of 12 to 15 years,” said Dr Deokar.

According to the health department of the PMC, there are a total of 1,04,572 eligible beneficiaries between the age group of 12 and 15 years in the PMC limits. Out of these, 33,349 have received the first dose and 20,675 have received these second doses so far.

There are a total of 172,828 beneficiaries between the age group of 15 to 18 years who are eligible for the vaccine dose. Out of these, 117,268 beneficiaries have received the first dose and 77,448 have received the second dose within the PMC limits till July 13.

Health department officials noted that many parents initially hesitated to vaccinate their children. As a result, coverage of first and second doses among 12 to 15 years of age in Pune district is lower than Maharashtra average.

For 12 to 15 years of age, Pune district has covered 57.58 per cent for the first dose against the state average of 64.11 per cent. And for the second dose, the district has covered 32.45 per cent against the state average of 35.88 per cent.

According to the health department, for the age group of 15 to 18 years, the first dose coverage for Pune district is 67.94 per cent and the state coverage is 65.91 per cent. For the second dose, Pune district covered 47.38 per cent and Maharashtra covered 47.69 per cent.