COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 15-18 starts today; Check how to register online

Following Centre's cue, COVID vaccination for children aged 15-18 is now set to begin today. The vaccination will be done with Covaxin and the registration for the new drive for the youngsters started from Sunday, January 1, on the CoWIN platform. All those whose birth year is 2007 or before are eligible to register themselves on Co-WIN. 

The central government had earlier issued a circular confirming the vaccination drive beginning for kids aged between 15 and 18. The Centre released a series of guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccination drive which is scheduled to start today, January 3, 2022. The registration for the vaccine started only days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced vaccinating children in January. The PM’s announcement had come after Bharat Biotech's coronavirus vaccine was approved for use among recipients in the age group of 15 and 18.

Registrations for COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 15 to 18 years began on Saturday and teenagers can now book their slots online to get their first jab. The only option of vaccination would be 'Covaxin' as this is the only vaccine with Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for the 15-18 age group and necessary recommendation of "COVID-19 Working group" of NTAGI. Covaxin received approval from the Controller General of India for emergency use for children between the age of 12 and 18. 

How to register COVID vaccine for kids aged 15-18 years online?

• Beneficiaries can self-register or use an existing account on Co-WIN to book the vaccination slot.
• To create a new account, you must enter your mobile number to receive a One-Time Password or OTP
• After successfully creating an account, you may enter your details for registration
• After registering with CoWin, you will be given the option to book a slot closer to your nearest vaccination centre
• Eligible candidates can also register for COVID vaccination offline in the facilitated registration mode.
• Beneficiaries are offered an option to book their vaccination slot online or onsite.

As of Sunday night, a total of 6,79,064 teenagers between the age of 15-18 have registered for vaccination on CoWIN app. This comes amid increased concern over the rise in cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the country.

COVID-19 in India

As of Sunday, COVID-19 cases reported a 21 per cent jump in infections with 27,553 new cases. The country's Coronavirus tally now stands at 3,48,89,132 with active cases (1,22,801) accounting for 0.35 per cent of the total caseload. About 284 people lost their lives due to the virus in the last 24 hours, as per the Health Ministry data. The daily positivity rate is currently at 2.55 per cent. 

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