Bihar seems to have taken to vaccinating students on a war-footing, with the state now declaring that all students who are set to appear for their Board exams in February and March will be vaccinated by January 26.
Vaccination of adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 began at the start of the year and, in a recent announcement, the state health department has created a task force to ensure that the 32 lakh students in the state who have registered to sit for the Board exams in the coming months are vaccinated on priority, according to Hindustan Times. This is in addition to the vaccination camps that are already in place in various government and private schools to vaccinate all eligible students.
Letters have been dispatched to all District Magistrates, directing them to create the task force at district and block levels, to ensure that schools achieve complete vaccination for such students by Republic Day.
The State Board exams in Bihar are set to begin from February 1 for Class XII and from February 17 for Class X. These exams will be conducted in the offline mode.
Demands for reopening schools are also gaining traction in the state, as certain organisations, including the Private Schools and Children Welfare Association (PSCWA) seem to be of the opinion that reopening schools will give both students and parents more impetus to get vaccinated. They have also been voicing their concerns about the damage that closure of schools is doing on learning.
