Vaccination drive for students in the 12-14 age group begins in Vellore, nearby districts

Due to fewer vaccines and the need for parents’ consent, the drive has been slow, say health officials

Vaccination drive for students in the 12-14 age group in Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupattur commenced on Wednesday.

Health officials said a total of 2,28,286 students were eligible to take the first dose in Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruvallur and Tiruvannamalai districts, covering around 1,300 schools. However, due to fewer vaccines and the need for parents’ consent, the drive has been slow in these districts. It should be noted that Tiruvannamalai has not started the vaccination drive for students in the 12-14 age group due to the non-availability of the new vaccine.

“Existing classrooms are being used for students in the age group of 12-14 for vaccination. These classrooms are also used for students in the age group of 15-17,” said Ranipet Collector D. Bhaskara Pandian.

For the drive, a medical team with at least four staff, two classrooms for vaccination and observation of students are in place in each school. As Corbevax is different from the other vaccines that were used for other students and the general public, health officials are more cautious in ensuring that students get the right dosage. Interestingly, the Centre has announced that children aged 12-14, across the country, will be vaccinated from March 16.   At present, nearly 80% of the students aged 15-17, who were administered Covaxin, have received their first dose in these districts. Vaccination of this age group started on January 3. COVID-19 safety measures, including hand sanitisers, thermal scanners, disinfection of classrooms, marking of social distancing spaces and free face masks at the entrance of the schools, are made available.   Among the four districts, Tiruvannmalai has the largest number of students in the 12-14 age group with 72,100 students. At present, the Tiruvannamalai district has a total of 1,600 schools, including 545 high and higher secondary schools with 1.27 lakh students studying between Classes IX and XII. Vellore has over 60,000 students aged 12-14, Ranipet 53,524 and Tirupattur 52,662.