53% children in 12-14 age group received first dose of Covid vaccine: Delhi govt

NEW DELHI: Nearly 53 per cent of beneficiaries in the 12-14 age group in Delhi have received the first dose of the Covid vaccine since the launch of the drive earlier this month, according to official data. This is 24 percentage points higher than the national average of 29 per cent, the District Disaster Management Authority announced on Thursday.

The vaccination drive in the 12-14 years age group started across India on March 16. The beneficiaries are being administered Corbevax vaccine Over 3.90 lakh doses of Covid vaccines were administered to youngsters in the 12-14 age group in the city, with West Delhi accounting for the maximum number of administered vaccines in the national capital.

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Over 50,950 doses have been administered in West Delhi till March 30, followed by Northwest Delhi where 46,819 doses were given to the youngsters. Central Delhi has the lowest number of vaccine doses administered at 21,411. The DDMA notified that 13.59 lakh Covid vaccine doses have been administered in March, taking to jabs given in the city to 3,25,98,240. Meanwhile, over 4.92 lakh precaution doses of the vaccines have been administered till March 30, informed the Delhi Health department.

According to officials in order to cover the 12-14 year cohort, and the remaining 15-17 years cohorts, vaccination shall be conducted at school sites in camp mode, as required, in close coordination with the education department. Out of school children shall be mobilized to the nearby health facilities, they said.

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The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16, 2021, with the healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of the frontline workers started from February 2 last year. India began administering precaution doses of the vaccines to the healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10 this year.