All colleges in Maharashtra's Thane district will conduct COVID-19 vaccination drives to inoculate students with the first dose of the vaccine, a senior district official said on Friday, October 22. Thane additional collector, Vaidehi Ranade, presided over a meeting of college heads in the district, where she said institutions will start vaccinating students starting from October 25, in light of the implementation of Yuva Swasthya Mohim.

Colleges in the district have been directed to draw up a list of students who have already taken the first jab and the rest will be vaccinated in colleges, the official said. Colleges will submit a list of eligible students to be covered with the first dose to the health department, which will, in turn, organise vaccination camps, she said.

Representatives of 57 colleges (excluding those within the municipal corporation limits) were present for the meeting, she said. The additional collector Ranade also said that till October 20, at least 70 per cent of the eligible beneficiaries in the district have been given the first dose, while 34 per cent have taken both doses.