All students in degree colleges in Karnataka will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the first or second week of July, after which the institutions would reopen for classes, Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said here on Wednesday.

"A committee headed by Dr Devi Prasad Shetty has submitted a report covering all aspects, including the third wave. It has recommended opening degree colleges first. Students will be vaccinated in July, after which the classes will begin," Narayan, who heads the COVID-19 Task Force, told reporters on the sidelines of a function.

In a bid to get students to return to colleges, the government has coined the slogan 'Marali College Ge' (Back to colleges), he said. The DCM said the government is awaiting the central government guidelines on reopening colleges. He said vaccination for all those aged over 18 in the state is already underway on a priority basis.

To a question on the Delta Plus variant, classified as a Variant of Concern (VOC), Narayan said no mutant of the virus can cause harm to those people who have been vaccinated. He said vaccines are the only way forward and everyone should get inoculated.