In Gurgaon, 7,527 teenagers get their first Covid vaccine

At DAV School at Sector 49, where the Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner inaugurated the vaccination session, Tamanna (17), a class XII student of the school, was the first to be vaccinated in the district.

Sporting a smile and a victory sign as she stepped out after taking the jab, she said, “I am excited to be among the first lot to be vaccinated. I had been waiting for the inoculations to begin. I did not feel scared at all. The process was smooth. I hope every teenager is vaccinated at the earliest.”

Her mother, Namita Dhingra, said she felt a bit relieved now: “As parents, we have been anxious for children to get vaccinated especially with the emergence of omicron variant. The fear, while stepping out, would be considerably reduced.”

Krishna Yadav (16), a student of class XI, said, “Though I am slightly scared of needles, I wanted to be vaccinated on the first day. The shot barely took a few seconds. I have been reading about the importance of vaccination and how the vaccine builds antibodies, which act as a deterrent against the virus. Since my term 2 exams are approaching, it was important to be vaccinated at the earliest so that my studies are not disturbed later.”

DC Yash Garg said, “We had hoped to vaccinate 8,000-10,000 teenagers on the first day. Since Covaxin is being administered, in 28 days, teenagers would be able to get the second dose and hopefully, we shall be able to vaccinate children at a faster rate in the district. Gurgaon’s track record in terms of vaccinations has been good.”

At the government girls’ school in Jacobpura, students stood in lines for hours awaiting their turn. Teachers said they were prioritising vaccination of children in classes X and XII since their board exams are approaching. A teacher, requesting anonymity, said, “Some students from classes IX and XI were turned back since we have been allotted a fixed number of doses.”

Sameeksha Rai, a class XII student, who stood in the queue for an hour in Jacobpura, said, “Initially, there was some trepidation regarding vaccination. But today I feel no fear. We have been having discussions with teachers regarding vaccination, so we were mentally prepared. My main concern is preparation for exams and the vaccine will act as a shield against the virus.”

In a statement, Fortis Healthcare said, “We commenced vaccination for children at four hospitals in Delhi/NCR today. There has been a good response to the children vaccination drive and we are expecting the numbers to increase in the coming days. With a continuous upsurge in Covid cases across the country, it is crucial that children take the jab immediately to contain the community spread of the virus. We would urge all parents to get their children vaccinated and follow Covid appropriate behaviour and guidelines.”

Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurgaon, said, “We set up 77 sessions — 38 at government institutes (PHCs, UPHCs, civil hospital), 39 at government and private schools — and 10 centres at private hospitals for vaccination. Each centre has been allotted 100 slots… Depending on the availability of doses, we will ramp up the pace. I appeal to all children in this age group to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Gurgaon Monday reported 460 cases of Covid, the highest single-day spike in over seven months. According to the district health bulletin, on May 22, the district had reported 308 cases. The total active cases in the district are 1,827, of which 13 are hospitalised and 1,814 are in home isolation. A total of 6,840 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

Five new cases of the omicron variant of Covid was reported on Monday, taking the total number of omicron cases in Gurgaon to 39. Of these 39 cases, two are active while the remaining have been discharged.