Covid: Registration for kids 15-18 begins for their first shot from tomorrow; 10-crore target population
As the active Covid case load nationwide crossed 1 lakh Saturday, the registration for vaccination for children between 15 and 18 years, a crucial milestone in expanding immunity beyond adults, got under way.
Data on the Cowin dashboard showed 3,15,416 registrations for this age group until 11.30 pm Saturday.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya appealed to parents to register their eligible children. “If the children are safe, then the future of the country is safe,” he tweeted.
This began a week after the Prime Minister’s announcement that Covid-19 vaccination will start January 3 for children.
Covid should be a manageable disease like common cold, says Dr Shashank Joshi
Dr Shashank Joshi, member, Maharashtra Covid Task Force, has been honoured with the ‘IMA Special Award’ for the year 2020-2021.
“We are in the third wave now and we have to come out of this with responsible behaviour. Our biggest challenge today is that though the cases are mild, most people are asymptomatic. If you look at Mumbai, it has 5,712 cases which are asymptomatic, out of the 6,347, and the number of people who are hospitalised is only 389. So the bed which are occupied is only 9% and there has been only one death,” he said.
“So, basically Covid has to become a manageable disease and we have to get out of this in a better way. We should not get overwhelmed by the third wave. That is our biggest target and for that we need to focus on home-based care than institutional care,” he added.
Haryana’s fresh surge in Covid cases of late, data shows, includes at least 63 cases of Omicron variant that have been detected till January 2 (Sunday). According to the state health department, out of these, at least 58 patients were fully vaccinated, and only five were un-vaccinated.
The 58 who were vaccinated include 32 people from Gurgaon, six each from Faridabad and Karnal, three each from Yamunanagar and Panipat, four in Kurukshetra, two in Hisar and one each in Panchkula and Rohtak. Read more
Amid rapidly rising cases of Covid-19, physical attendance of government servants below level of under secretary has been restricted to 50 per cent. Persons with disabilities and pregnant women employees have also been exempted from attending office.
Amid rising cases of Covid-19, Jharkhand government on Monday ordered chool, colleges, gyms, swimming pools and parks to be kept shut till January 15.
Amid rising Covid-19 cases across the country, Personnel Ministry on Monday suspended biometric attendance for government employees till January 31, an official order stated.
Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said, "A member of my family and one of my staff have tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. I have tested negative today however the doctor has advised that I remain isolated and test again after a few days."
The Union health ministry on Monday dismissed media reports alleging that expired vaccines are being administered in the country under its COVID-19 vaccination programme as “false and misleading”.
“There have been some media reports alleging that expired vaccines are being administered in India under its national COVID-19 vaccination programme. This is false and misleading and based on incomplete information,” the ministry said in a statement. --PTI
Delhi reports 4,099 fresh cases, one death in the last 24 hours; Active caseload at 10,986, Positivity rate at 6.46%
Kerala on Monday (January 3) reported 29 new Omicron variant covid-19 cases, taking the total confirmed cases to 181. Of the total Omicron cases, 109 had travel history from countries reckoned as low risk, while 52 from high risk countries. Twenty others got infected through contact.Health Minister Veena George said 42 persons infected with Omicron have so far turned negative for the variant. "At present, only 139 persons are receiving treatment. Of the latest 29 cases, 25 persons came from low risk countries."
As per genome sequencing reports of Dec 30-31, Omicron found in 84 per cent of Covid samples tested: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain. --PTI
Over 100 doctors in three different hospitals of Kolkata have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, a senior health official said on Monday.
At least 70 doctors of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, 24 medical practitioners of Chittaranjan Seva Sadan and Shishu Sadan Hospital in Kalighat, and 12 of the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology have tested positive for the infection, the official told PTI.
“The doctors have been asked to go for institutional quarantine,” he said.
Contact tracing has begun, and the process of clinical examination of everyone in the three hospitals has started, the official said.
West Bengal had on Sunday reported 6,153 COVID-19 cases, with the eastern metropolis accounting for 3,194 infections. The state’s coronavirus tally stood at 16,49,150, of which 17,038 are active cases. --PTI
As teenagers line up at vaccination centres in Pune, the Indian Express take a look at what the kids had to say following their jabs.
Omanshu Singh (16) of Ryan International School, Bhavdhan, said, "I think young people should take vaccination seriously as this will help them in their academics and further studies. Awareness on vaccination was created by my school teacher and I thank them for this."
Shriya Deshmukh (17) of Abhinav College said that her friends and family created awareness about Covid vaccination in their circles. "I think getting vaccinated is very important for youngsters of my age, however, this should have been done little earlier," she added.
Anaya Gore (15) of Abhinav Vidyalaya, said, "I think getting vaccinated at my age is very important as this will help me in my future studies along with my friends. We are excited to get fully vaccinated now."
Vaccination for the 15-18 age group kicked off on Monday as the country continued to fight against surging Covid-19 cases, courtesy the Omicron variant of the virus. According to the Centre, there are around 10 crore children in this age bracket.
The Indian Express take a look at what the kids had to say following their jabs:
“I want to feel safe from Omicron. Apart from that, I also wanted to get it early to show people in my galli (neighbourhood) that it’s safe and nothing bad will happen. There are still quite a few people who think they don’t need vaccines and maybe I can help convince them,” said Harsh, a 16-year old beneficiary in Delhi.
Shravani Shinde, 16, after getting her shot at SP College in Pune, said, “I was tensed before coming to the vaccination centre. However, I could not even realise when they gave me the shot as those administering it were constantly conversing with me.”
Read more
Covid-19 cases continued to rise rapidly in Pune with 850 new infections detected on Sunday as 16,346 samples were tested, a 34.7 per cent increase compared to the previous day, according to the data released by the health department of Pune Zilla Parishad. As many as 314 people recovered from the virus while two died, one each from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pune rural.
Maharashtra reported 50 cases of Omicron variant on Sunday, of which 46 came from Pune district. Read more
Puducherry CM N Rangasamy launched Covid vaccination for children from the Thillaiyadi Valliammai Government High School in Kataragama.
Meanwhile, in Telangana, Health Minister T Harish Rao launched the inoculation drive teenagers at a health centre in the city. He said 1,014 vaccination centres have been started in the state for the 15-18 age group which are an addition to the existing adult vaccination centres. Observing that 18.70 lakh children in the age group of 15-18 are estimated to be eligible for receiving the shots in the state, he appealed to the parents and teachers to take the initiative to get the eligible teenagers vaccinated.
At Pune’s Kamala Nehru Hospital, the flow of youngsters remained unstoppable as the Covid-19 vaccination drive for those aged between 15 and 18 years commenced on Monday.
Over 100 doctors in Patna — 96 of them from Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) — have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last two days. Bihar’s active Covid-19 count has crossed the 1,000-mark, half of which are from Patna alone. Of these, there are, however, no Omicron cases. Read more
With more than 16,000 paramedics on strike demanding pay hike and allowances in Punjab, Covid-19 vaccination drive for the 15-18 age group is likely to go slow in the state.
“The Covid-19 vaccination drive is likely to go slow as a majority of the staff is on strike,” said Dr Rajinder Singla, district immunisation officer, Barnala.
The staff on strike include 9,500 employees under National Health Mission (NHM), 2,500 multipurpose health workers (MPHW), 3,000 staff nurses on regular rolls and 1,200 rural pharmacists. The NHM staff include clerical cadres, auxiliary nursing midwives (ANMs), staff nurses, health workers and so on. Read more
With Covid-19 cases surging, the Chennai corporation has engaged 1,000 volunteers to provide those in home quarantines with food and medicines, will set up telecounselling centres and increase daily testing from 25,000 to 30,000.
“For each ward, there will be five volunteers. So for 200 wards, a total of 1,000 volunteers will be engaged. Apart from providing services at their doorstep, they will also watch for violations of Covid-19 norms,” Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said after taking stock of the Omicron situation on Sunday. The total cases of the latest coronavirus variant reported in the state stands at 121, of which 20 are active, with 98 people having been discharged in the last 24 hours. Read more
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated the Covid-19 vaccination camp for those aged between 15-18 years at a government high school near Saidapet in Chennai today.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai kicked off the Covid-19 vaccination drive for children in the age group of 15-18 years at a BBMP school in Mudalapalya in Bengaluru today.
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Monday kickstarted the vaccination drive for children between 15 to 18 years of age. Officials said in the first phase 1.17 lakh children will be given the first dose of the vaccine.
The drive started around 10 am at eight centres of the civic body. The centres include ESIC hospital, Mohannagar, Premlok Park dispensary Masulkar Colony Eye hospital, New Thergaon Hospital, Thergaon, Old Bhosari Hospital, Urdu school, Yamunanagar, New Jijamata Hospital, Pimpri and Kasarwadi dispensary.
Dr Varsha Dange, medical officer, PCMC, said for the purpose of getting the vaccine dose, registeration on www.cowin.gov.in is mandatory. The slot booking will start at 8 am every day. "We have adequate stock of the vaccine for the children from 15 to 18 years of age," she said.
Covid-19 vaccination for adolescents in the age group of 15 to 18 began on Monday in Kerala as per the schedule. Kerala has 15.34 lakh children in this age group to be vaccinated.
Covaxin vaccine would be administered to the children at selected general, taluk, community health centers across the state. There would be spot registration for children, who could not register slots in the Cowin portal of the government. At all centers, children’s vaccination counters have been marked in pink color for hassle-free vaccination.
Health minister Veena George said children’s vaccination would be completed in Kerala in a time-bound manner. The state has a stock of 5 lakh doses of Covaxin and another 1.5 lakh doses are expected on Monday.
State Education Minister V Sivankutty said the department is also monitoring the vaccination of children. "Every day, the data of the vaccinated children would be collected,’’ he said.
At Kamala Nehru hospital the flow of youngsters is unstoppable for the vaccine shot against Covid-19.
Rather than wait for the elevator 16-year-old Aryan Jadhav takes the stairs to the fifth floor where names are being registered and Nurse Surekha Gholap waits to inject the jab for the 15 to 18 age group. "I am eager to take the vaccine shot as early as possible,'' says 16-year-old Aryan Jadhav, a Class XI science student. His friend, Kanad Tamne (16), adds that this vaccine will help us fight covid.
As per the government policy Covaxin is being administered to the 15 to 18 age group. In the city there are 40 centres who have the Covaxin dose.
Ritesh Parte was the first 17-year-old youth to get his vaccine shot at Kamala Nehru hospital, while 16-year-old Harsheeta Urs got the jab after a brief formal inauguration. 'We don't really have to worry about side effects. There is so much evidence that vaccines are safe. Most of us are really keen on getting the jab and ending this Covid 19,'' she said.
Vaccination for children in the age group of 15-18 kicked off at 159 government hospitals, schools, and primary healthcare centres in New Delhi on Monday.
Several teenagers, most of whom had come with their parents, lined up outside the centres to get their first shots. There are at least 1.01 million children between the age of 15-18 years in Delhi who are eligible to get their shots, data shared by the Central government revealed.
Currently, Covaxin is the only vaccine approved for children by the Centre. Read more
Goa's Health minister Vishwajit Rane said that the government aims at vaccinating 72,000 children in the age group of 15 to 18 years in three to four days with vaccination drives across schools in the state.
The Shantadurga Higher Secondary School in Bicholim, North Goa, began its vaccination drive for the age group on Monday. See photos below:
Even as Covid-19 cases continue to rise, Delhi has not added any new Omicron cases in the last two days, maintaining the tally at 351. Maharashtra, meanwhile, has reported the highest number of Omicron cases in the country with 510 of the total 1,700 cases reported so far.
To be sure, it is likely that Delhi has not added any new Omicron cases on Sunday and Monday because the genome sequencing tests are done in batches and bulk reports come every two to three days. Read more
A Covid-19 vaccination centre for girls has been set up at the Govt Girls Senior Secondary School at Sector 20 in Chandigarh.
With teenagers lining up at Delhi's Covid vaccination centres, The Indian Express spoke to a few of the beneficiaries.
Gaurika Rawat, 16, took her first shot at a vaccination centre at RK Puram today. "I was scared to take it, but it didn't hurt at all. My family said I should take it on the first day. Maybe we can go out more easily now."
"It was very exciting to be the first person in my class to take the vaccine," said Sidharth Abrol, 15, from Pushp Vihar. "With Omicron doing the rounds, I'll try to stay at home and not be a carrier. Now that we are getting vaccinated, I wonder if school and transport to school will return to normal," he added.
Shivam Ghanghas, 15, DAV school, Gurgaon, said, "I wanted to get a shot at the earliest so that even if there are any side effects, my studies are not hampered later. My uncle is a doctor. He had informed me about the importance of getting vaccinated and about Covaxin."
Ten more cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have been detected in Karnataka, the State's Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Monday. This takes the state's Omicron tally to 76.
Crowds were seen in Kolkata's metro and local trains on the first day of the new Covid restrictions. In view of the rising cases in the state, the West Bengal government had imposed strict measures.
Local trains will be allowed to operate with 50 per cent capacity till 7 pm, while all shopping malls and markets will be allowed to remain open till 10 pm but with half their capacities. Long-distance trains will operate as per their usual schedule. Metro trains in Kolkata will also operate as per their usual timing but with 50 per cent capacity.
Covid-19 vaccination for the age group 15-18 years began at Kameshwar school, Ahmedabad. The Centre has allowed teenagers to be inoculated with Covaxin.
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan laid emphasis on conducting vaccination against the viral infection on a war footing as the drive to inoculate children in the 15 to 18 years age group began on Monday.
Chouhan also sought the participation of the elected representatives, volunteers and religious leaders to encourage children to get vaccinated. The vaccination for this age group is to be held in the premises of schools only, the CM said in a statement.
"We have to hold the vaccination drive on a war footing. Crisis management committees, MPs, MLAs, social workers, volunteers, religious leaders, all are requested to appeal to the children to get vaccinated," he said. (PTI)
Covid-19 vaccination for the age group 15-18 years began at Kameshwar school, Ahmedabad. See Express photos by Nirmal Harindran.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that the Omicron variant of coronavirus is mild. However, he added that its necessary to remain alert in view of any disease, but there's no need to panic. He added, "virus ab kamzor pad chuka hai (the virus has weakened now)."
This comes as the BJP-government is gearing up for the Assembly elections in the state.
A 17-year-old became the first one to get the Covid-19 jab at the PCMC hospital in Pune's Kasarwadi as vaccination of those between 15 to 18 years began at 10.20 am.
With teenagers lining up at Delhi's Covid vaccination centres, Indian Express spoke to a few of the beneficiaries.
16-year-old Radha Shukla waits in line at LNC Hospital Lajpat Nagar to get her first dose. "I'm scared of getting injections, but my parents and teachers told me I should get it on the first day itself to avoid crowds later," she said.
"I feel excited that I'm here on the first day first show. I hope I can go outside more freely now," says Shreshta Karki, 16.
"I am very happy that they have finally started the vaccination drive for kids. Omircron is largely attacking children and vaccine is very important to stop the spread. I don't know how many students from my class will be taking the first shot but I have put a message in my class group urging everyone to get the jab," says Akshit Marodia, a class 10 student of APS School, Dhaula Kuan.
Cities across the country have geared up for the vaccination drive for 15-18-year-olds, beginning today. The Union Health Ministry had announced that Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin will be the one that will be administered to eligible children — in two doses 28 days apart.
In Pune, civic health officials said that a total of 10,000 doses of Covaxin vaccine are available at Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)-run centres.
In Delhi, 159 sites in government hospitals, primary healthcare centres, and government schools have been set up. The drive will be expanded Tuesday in a “camp mode” at private schools if more than 500 children are ready to get the shot.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday flagged off the vaccination drive for 15-18-year-olds at a high school in Gandhinagar.
According to the Union Ministry of Health, the Omicron tally in the country is at 1,700, of which 639 have recovered or been discharged. Maharashtra topped the count with 510 Omicron cases, followed by Delhi with 351 cases.
Kerala has 156 Omicron cases, while states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan have more than 100 cases of the new variant, as well.
India on Monday reported 33,750 fresh Covid-19 cases and 123 deaths. With 10,846 recoveries, the country’s active caseload stood at 1,45,582.
The active cases account for 0.42 per cent of the total cases, according to the Union Ministry of Health. The daily positivity rate in the country is at 3.84 per cent.
With cases of the Omicron variant of corona virus rising sharply, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Sunday told states they have collectively utilised only over 17 per cent of the Rs 23,123 crore Emergency Covid-19 Response Package II (ECRP-II) to ramp up medical infrastructure approved by the Union Cabinet last August.
Mandaviya discussed “critical bottlenecks in medical infrastructure” in the states, the health ministry said. “He urged the states to reinvigorate their teams to work at the ground level and strengthen monitoring and containment mechanisms. This was followed by a comprehensive and detailed discussion on various aspects of Covid management including ramping up of hospital infrastructure; increased testing; stringent restrictive measures for breaking the chain of transmission; and stress on Covid-appropriate behaviour among the masses,” the health ministry said. Read more
COVID-19 continued to gallop across Bihar on Sunday as 352 fresh cases, 71 more than the previous day's figure, were reported while Patna remained the worst affected district, with 17 doctors among the 142 who tested positive. According to the health department, active cases have shot past the four-digit mark and reached 1074.
On Saturday and Friday, Bihar had registered 281 and 158 fresh cases respectively. However, no fatality due to the disease has been reported in the last four days and the death toll remained unchanged at 12,096 The district administration in Patna has gone into a tizzy after 17 junior doctors at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in the city tested positive for coronavirus NMCH Superintendent Vinod Kumar Singh said samples of 70 junior doctors, who had attended an Indian Medical Association (IMA) function here last week, were sent for testing after they complained of symptoms. (PTI)
Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo has tested positive for Covid-19.
Tamil Nadu continued to witness a rise in new coronavirus cases with 1,594 being added afresh on Sunday, pushing the cumulative tally to 27,51,128 while the toll climbed to 36,790 with six more deaths.
Chennai and neighbouring Chengalpet accounted for the majority of infections with 776 and 146 cases respectively, while the remaining were scattered across other districts.
Recoveries were less than half of the new cases with 624 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 27,05,034 leaving 9,304 active infections, a medical bulletin said. (PTI)
Continuing with the steep hike in Covid-19 cases in West Bengal for the past one week, the state on Sunday recorded 6,153 infections with Kolkata accounting for 3,194 of them, a health department bulletin said. The state had recorded 4,512 Covid-19 cases on Saturday, with the metropolis alone reporting 2,398 of them.
The bulletin said that eight people died of coronavirus on Sunday, while nine such patients had perished the previous day. A total of 19,781 people have died of the disease so far, according to the bulletin.
Mumbai on Sunday recorded 8,063 new Covid-19 cases along with 578 recoveries, the public health department said. Active cases in Mumbai stand at 29,819. The city had reported 6,347 new infections yesterday.
45 new cases of Omicron variant have been reported in Kerala, health minister Veena George informed. With this the tally of the new variant in Kerala rose to 152.
Karnataka reported 1,187 new Covid-19 cases. Bengaluru Urban recorded 932 of the total fresh cases in the state.
Kerala on Sunday reported 2,802 fresh Covid-19 cases and 12 related deaths. The state has an active caseload of 19,021 infections.
Delhi on Sunday reported 3,194 fresh Covid-19 cases at a positivity rate of 4.59 per cent. The national capital also recorded one death in the last 24 hours.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday said states and union territories should take necessary measures, including setting up separate vaccination centres, to avoid mixing-up of Covid vaccines during administration of shots to those in the 15-18 age group. Inoculation of children in this age category will start on January 3.
The vaccine option for those in the 15-18 age group would only be Covaxin, according to a set of new guidelines issued by the Union health ministry. Besides Covaxin, the adult population of the country is being administered Covishield and Sputnik V.
To ensure smooth implementation of the guidelines, Mandaviya held an online interaction with health ministers and principal secretaries and additional chief secretaries for health of states and union territories (UTs). He advised them to ensure orientation of vaccinators and vaccination team members for the inoculation exercise for those in the 15-18 age group and for identification of dedicated vaccination session sites for this category of beneficiaries, a health ministry statement said.
West Bengal government announces closure of all schools, colleges, universities, spas, salons, beauty parlours, zoos, and entertainment parks from tomorrow. Offices allowed to operate with 50% workforce; only essential services permitted from 10 am to 5 pm.
23 new cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Odisha. The total number of cases with new variant has reached 37 in the state, said Niranjan Mishra, Director, Public Health.
Delhi schools have been directed to play a central role in the Covid-19 vaccination of eligible students from Monday, and will have to share their vaccination status with the education department every day.
The government has also created a provision for schools to request temporary camps for vaccination in their premises.
Covid-19 vaccination for children between the ages of 15 and 18 will begin from Monday in 159 government centres and 16 private centres. Read more
Veteran filmmaker Rahul Rawail, known for movies like 'Betaab' (1983) and 'Arjun' (1985), has tested positive for Covid-19, PTI reported.
The 70-year-old director had reportedly contracted the virus last week and is recovering. He is one of the latest Bollywood personalities who have recently tested positive for Covid-19 including actors Mrunal Thakur, Nora Fatehi, producer Rhea Kapoor and her filmmaker-husband Karan Boolani.
Amid a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, the Odisha government on Sunday said that it was withholding its decision to reopen schools for students of classes 1 to 5 from Monday.
School and mass education minister SR Dash, in a statement, said the decision was taken after officials visited various primary schools across the state and held discussions with the stakeholders. Read more
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said, "Covid-19 cases are rising in a few cities like Raigarh and Raipur. Since many samples have been sent to the genome sequencing centre at Odisha for Omicron, it's taking some time." However, he added that there was no need to panic, all arrangements have been made by the state government.
Earlier in the day, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi spoke with Baghel over the Covid situation in the state and inquired about the preparedness, ANI reported.
A 26-year-old woman, who returned to Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district recently from the Netherlands, has been found infected with the Omicron variant, PTI reported. She has been shifted to a private ward of a district hospital, while her three family members have been tested and isolated as well.
With this, the Omicron tally in the state has reached 10. Earlier, nine cases were reported from Indore.
The notion that Omicron is a natural vaccine is a "dangerous idea" spread by irresponsible people who don't take into account "long Covid" about which very little is understood, experts have said.
The Omicron variant of Covid-19, which is said to be much more infectious than the other variants, is, however, causing milder infections, less hospitalisation and deaths which is leading to the notion that it can act as a natural vaccine. Recently, a Maharashtra health official also claimed that Omicron will act as a natural vaccine and may help in COVID-19's progression towards the endemic stage.
Noted virologist Shahid Jameel , the former head of the advisory group to the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia (INASACOG), said those who advocate this don't take into account "long Covid" about which very little is understood. "Especially in India, where malnutrition, air pollution and diabetes are rampant, to willingly let people be exposed to a virus about which you understand little is not good science and public health," he said. (PTI)