Over 13.21 lakh children in the age group of 12 to 14 years will be administered the COVID-19 vaccine in Chhattisgarh in a drive that begins on March 16, an official from the State Health Department said on Tuesday, March 15. All the necessary preparations have been made to administer the Corbevax vaccine to 13,21,286 children in the age group, said Dr Priyanka Shukla, the state nodal officer for COVID-19 vaccination and Director of the National Health Mission.

The second dose of the vaccine will be administered to eligible children four weeks after they have taken their first jab. Vaccination officers of all the districts have been oriented on this, she said. Eligible beneficiaries can register themselves on the CoWIN app to get vaccinated, the official said.

The Centre, on March 14, also announced that all people above the age of 60 can get the booster (precautionary) dose. Previously, only those with comordibities were allowed to take the extra dose. Senior citizens who have completed 39 weeks after their second dose can take the third dose of the same COVID-19 vaccine previously given at the nearest vaccination centre by registering themselves on the CoWIN app, Shukla said.

At present, more than 1.64 lakh vaccine doses are available in the state, the official said. Over 1.73 crore people have taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine so far in the state, while 11,16,786 children in the age group of 15 to 18 years have also been vaccinated, Dr Shukla said.