Covid-19 vaccination for kids aged 12-14 years begins today, new guidelines issued

Pic for representational use only

New Delhi: The Covid-19 vaccination for all beneficiaries in the 12-14 age group will begin from Wednesday (March 16, 2022), National Vaccination Day, at all government Covid vaccination centres. The vaccine to be administered would be Corbevax, manufactured by Biological E. Limited, Hyderabad.

Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, in a virtual meeting with all states and UTs on Tuesday, said that the online registration for vaccination will start at 9 AM.

The states and UTs have been advised to ensure that only those who have attained the age of 12 years on the date of vaccination are vaccinated against Covid-19. The Centre has clarified that if the beneficiary is registered but has not attained the age of 12 years on the date of vaccination, the vaccine will not be administered.

This follows the decision of the Union government to start Covid-19 vaccination for 12-13 years and 13-14 years age groups, those born in 2008, 2009 and 2010. ie those who are already above 12 years of age, from March 16, 2022.

Additionally, all above 60 years of age are now eligible for a Precaution Dose from Wednesday, as the condition of co-morbidity for this age group has been removed. However, the Precaution Dose is to be administered after a nine-month gap from the second dose and will be the same as the previous two doses.

The Centre has sent detailed instructions and operational guidelines to the states and UTs in this regard. The Centre has said that vaccinators and vaccination teams need to be trained to ensure that for the 12-14 years age group, there is no mixing of vaccines.

The states and UTs have been informed that the responsibility for the verification of the age will lie with the vaccinator or verifier at the time of vaccination for the first few days as the provision for recording the exact Date of Birth in the Co-WIN portal is under process. 

Once implemented, the system, by default, will not allow registration of beneficiaries who are not of the recommended age, said the secretary in the meeting. The states were also asked to ensure that all those above 60 years of age are covered with both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The states were also advised to ensure judicious utilisation of the available Covid-19 vaccines. As per the earlier guidelines, states can replace those that are about to expire and also replace them from one district within the state to another to ensure that vaccines are not wasted.