New Delhi: The slots for Covid-19 vaccination among 12-14 years old will be booked through Co-WIN and the choice of vaccine available for the age group will be Corbevax, according to directions the Union Health Ministry issued on Tuesday.
According to the Registrar General of India, around 4.7 crore children in that age group will start receiving the shots from Wednesday onwards.
Separate immunization centres will be created for 12 to14-year-olds to prevent the chances of receiving other vaccines (Covaxin, Covishield), which are not approved for the age group.
The directions have been issued to all states and UTs, Ministry official said.
The registration for the Covid-19 vaccination will begin from Wednesday morning both on Co-WIN and on-site.
All beneficiaries born in the year 2010 or earlier will be eligible for the vaccination and can self register themselves at the Co-WIN. There will also be the option of on-site registration.
The Union Health Ministry stressed that vaccination and verifier need to remain cautious to ensure that no children below the age of 12 on the day of vaccination is administered the vaccine.
"Vaccinators and vaccination teams need to be trained to ensure that particularly for 12-14 years age group there is no mixing of vaccines. States were advised to organize dedicated vaccination sessions through earmarked Covid-19 Vaccination Centers for vaccination of 12-14 years' age-group to avoid mixing with other vaccines," Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a statement.
"States/UTs were informed that at present the age of beneficiary in Co-WIN is being filtered based on Year of Birth. The responsibility for verification of age (12 years) will lie with the vaccinator/verifier at the time of vaccination for the first few days as the provision for recording the exact Date of Birth in Co-WIN portal is under process.
"Once implemented, the system, by default, will not allow registration of beneficiaries who are not of the recommended age," he added.
The vaccine approved for this age group by the Centre is Biological E' Corbevax.
The letter by Bhushan dated 14.03.22 to all states and UTs mentions "vaccine security issues" and "limited supply" of other Covid-19 vaccines behind the decision to allow Corbevax for the 12-14 age group.
"Only Corbevax would be used in these beneficiaries in the age group of 12-13 years and 13-14 years in government CVCs in view of vaccine security issues and limited availability of other Covid-19 vaccines approved for this age group," the letter said.
Other Covid-19 vaccines approved for the age group of 12 and above are Covaxin and ZyCoV-D.
The Covaxin is already being used in the 15 and above age group and in the adult population.
Corbevax is a two-dose regimen vaccine administered intramuscularly at an interval of 28 days. Each jab contains 0.5 ml of the vaccine. (UNI)