kolkata: Covid vaccination among the adolescents in the age group 12-14 will begin in Bengal from next Monday with the state health department issuing necessary directives to all the district magistrates and the chief medical officer of health besides the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Commissioner.
"Keeping in view the recommendation of the experts, scientific evidence and global best practices, it has been decided to expand Covid vaccination to adolescents in the age bracket 12-14 and precautionary dose to all persons of 60 years and above," reads the order.
The programme will be started from Monday and only CorBEvax vaccine would be used for the beneficiaries in the age group 12-13 and 13-14 years. As per the government directives, beneficiaries can self register through an existing account on Cowin of a family member or by creating a new account through a unique mobile number. Appointments can be booked online or onsite (Walk in) for 12-14 years. For these beneficiaries the option for vaccination would only be CorBEvax.
Vaccination of 12-14 years would be conducted through dedicated vaccination sessions (earmarked Covid vaccination centers for vaccination of 12-14 years age group) to avoid their unintended vaccination with any other Covid vaccines.
Vaccinator has to ensure that the vaccine is administered to only those children who have completed the age of 12 years on the date of vaccination.
The CorBEvax will be given from government run vaccination centers only. Two doses of the said vaccine will be given intramuscularly in a dose of 0.5 ml at an interval of 28 days.
In another development, precautionary doses can now be provided to all the people at the age of 60 and above. The prioritization and sequencing of this precautionary dose would be based on completion of 9 months (39 weeks) from the date of administration of the second dose.
Vaccination of precaution dose should be with the same vaccine which was applied earlier.
All the existing committees, district task force, municipal corporation task force, ULB task force, block task force will hold meetings to oversee the entire processes and review
the progress.