JNMC kick-starts Covid jabs for children

Aligarh : Fifty teenagers in the age bracket of 15-18 years were today inoculated with Covaxin jabs at the Old OPD Block of the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) as various cities across the Country kick-started the Covid vaccination drive for children.

Registrations for these vaccine shots began from January 1 on the Co-WIN portal, but the potential beneficiaries with their birth years 2007 or before are also allowed to avail the facility of a walk-in registration at the dedicated centres.

“Infrastructure at the JNMC is adequately set up with a well prepared medical staff to administer Covid vaccine shots to children, after having catered to the adult population. This vaccine drive for children is being carried out with all established Government protocols”, said AMU Vice Chancellor, Prof Tariq Mansoor.

He urged parents to bring their children for vaccination as soon as possible, to lend them protection amid a fear of a third wave of the fast spreading Omicron variant.

Prof Shahid A Siddiqui (Principal, JNMC) pointed out: “We have set up the logistics to meet the daily footfall and a team of paediatricians is on standby in case there are any adverse events reported in a beneficiary. Inoculated children are to wait for half-an-hour when they will be monitored for the adverse event following immunization and will be eligible for the second dose after 28 days”.

“In accordance with the Government guidelines, we have ensured separate queues and separate vaccination teams for children to avoid confusion in the administration of the right vaccines”, said the vaccination in-charges, Prof Saira Mehnaz and Dr Ali Jafar Abedi.