Admn mooting to open centers in schools also
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Dec 29: The Health authorities of Jammu and Kashmir have set a target of vaccinating around 8.3 lakh children in the age group 15-17 years for COVID-19 within 10 days of time.
Official sources told Excelsior that as the COVID vaccination for the age group 15-17 years is going to start from January 3, Health authorities of J&K have made a fool proof strategy for the vaccination programme. They said authorities have calculated the number of children in the target group which is around 8,33,000 in the whole UT of which 4,67,763 are in Kashmir Division and 3,65,237 are in Jammu Division.
Sources said that the aim of the authorities is to complete COVID vaccination of all children within the age group 15-17 years within 10 days and to achieve this target within specified time, all necessary instructions have been issued to all concerned by the Additional Chief Secretary Vivek Bhardwaj who yesterday held a meeting in this connection with DG Family Welfare, all Deputy Commissioners, MD NHM J&K, Director Health Services Jammu/Kashmir, CMOs, Deputy CMOs in the presence of Principal Secretary Education, Bishwajit Kumar Singh.
“Education Department has been taken on board to help the Health & Family Welfare Department mobilize students for the COVID vaccination as the authorities are also contemplating to open vaccination centres in the schools to make it comfortable for the children to get them vaccinated in their preferred place,” sources said, adding, the children will be given only Covaxin shot as per the guidelines issued by the Government of India and the eligible children can either register online on Co-Win app or can go for walk-in vaccination.
Sources further informed that in the light of the yesterday’s meeting taken by Additional Chief Secretary Health & Medical Education, most of the Deputy Commissioners today called meeting of the Health and Education officials to formulate the strategy to get all the children in the specified age group to the vaccination sites so that the target can be achieved within time.
“The available stock of vaccination has already been dispatched to hilly districts viz Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Reasi, Bandipora and Kupwara so that jabs can timely reach to the vaccination sites in these areas which are hard to reach,” sources claimed. They added that concerned Health authorities in J&K had also conveyed the Centre in advance about requirement of COVID jabs so that the vaccination programme is not affected due to shortage of jabs.
Regarding COVID booster dose for elderly people (60 plus) with co-morbidities, Front Line Workers (FLWs) and Health Care Workers (HCWs), sources said the process to administer booster dose to these people will begin from January 10. He said booster dose refers to the third dose of COVID vaccine for the fully vaccinated people. The gap between the second and third dose of the COVID vaccine must be at least nine months, sources added.
Sources further disclosed that the eligible population for the booster dose would be administered the third dose of the same vaccine they had been given before as the Centre has not yet given a nod to mix and match vaccines in the third dose.
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