Shubhangi Shifa
Ranchi, Jan 6: Covid vaccination in the age bracket of 15 to 18 years began in the State on January 4. In Ranchi, vaccination for children began at 29 centres in the State Capital. Of these, those providing vaccination to students on Thursday as per the list made available by the district administration include St. Columbus School, Chutiya; Mahindra Prasad College; Gurunanak Public School, St Xavier’s High School, Commerce Tower Coaching Center and Sachidanand Gyan Bharti School. The vaccination process at these centers commenced after 10 am, with the district administration making full arrangements for vaccination.
At schools children whose date of birth is between 2005-07 are vaccinated at schools, while those who are older are sent to other centres. At various places, children reached the vaccination centres early in the morning, while for some centres like St Xavier’s High School, the day was slow initially.
The facility of online as well as offline registration has also been made for getting vaccines. Apart from Aadhar card, registration is also being done with school ID. Along with this, the declaration form is being filled by parents before vaccination. Children will be vaccinated only after filling the form or taking consent over the phone.
‘As children have been asked to come to school after having breakfast, school management too has made arrangements of biscuits and other snacks for children getting vaccines. A target has been set to vaccinate 300-500 children at one centre in a day,’ said Gurunanak School Vice Principal Soniya Kaur. ‘We are also happy to see the enthusiasm in students. They are very excited to be vaccinated and are eagerly waiting for their chance,’ she added.
Other vaccination centers are GPS, Piska More, Hehal; Ashoke Nagar; Hinoo United Club; ATI Campus, Morabadi; Rotary Club, Club Road; Govt Primary School, New Saint Colony, Lodhma Road Dhurwa; St Joseph School, Lowadih; St Louis Primary School; Rajkiya Prathmik Vidyalaya, Bariyatu; and SPC. Session Football Stadium. At the same time, public representatives and officials in rural areas are making children and their parents aware about vaccination drives.
ADM, Law and Order, Utkarsh Gupta upon being asked about a deadline having been set for 100 percent vaccination of school children in Ranchi said, ‘We are trying to fully administer all doses as soon as possible, but a deadline has not been set yet.’
In Jharkhand, 23.98 lakh adolescents who are in the age group of 15-18 years are hoped to be vaccinated, whereas, in Ranchi around 2 lakh adolescents are to be vaccinated. The process to administer coronavirus vaccines to children comes amid a rapid rise in infections fuelled by the Omicron variant.
The vaccine option for this age group would only be Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, according to guidelines issued by the Union health ministry on December 27, 2021. The Drugs Controller General of India granted emergency use authorization to indigenously-developed Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children above 12 years with certain conditions on December 24, 2021.
