Covid vaccination for teens: India vaccinates over 40 lakh children on day 1

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA and Sharad Pawar's grandnephew Rohit Pawar has tested positive for novel coronavirus.

Punjab reports 419 new COVID19 cases on Monday. Active cases stand at 1,741. Additionally, 3,071 children were administered the Covaxin on the first day of vaccination for children in the 15-17 age group.

Two inmates and six staff have tested positive for Covid-19 in different jails of Tihar. The last positive case detected was in July 2021: Prison officials

54,443 children from the age group of 15-18 got their first jab of the COVID19 vaccine in Jammu and Kashmir on Day 1 of the vaccination drive. J&K has an eligible population of 8.33 Lakh in the age group 15-18 years and is aiming to complete the first dose in 10 days. The vaccination drive was launched today by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in Jammu.

Gujarat on Monday reported 1,259 new coronavirus positive cases, the highest single-day rise after the last seven months, taking the total number of infections to 8,35,028, the state health department said.

38 jawans of CRPF camp at Temelwada in Chhattisgarh's Chintagufa test positive for COVID19 during antigen testing. All infected jawans quarantined at the camp barracks: CMHO Sukma

"Today we have taken an important step forward in protecting our youth against COVID-19. Congrats to all my young friends between the age group of 15-18 who got vaccinated. Congrats to their parents as well. I would urge more youngsters to get vaccinated in the coming days!" PM Narendra Modi tweeted.

Big achievement in India's vaccination drive as over 40 lakh children between the age group of 15-18 years have been vaccinated with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on day-1 of vaccine for kids programme till 8 pm, as per CoWin portal.

Over 37.84 lakh children have been administered COVID-19 vaccine doses across states/UTs till 7 pm on the first day of the inoculation drive of those in the age group of 15 to 18 years on Monday.

2,560 new cases, 30 deaths and 2,150 recoveries were reported in Kerala on Monday. The active cases stand at 19,359, the state government said.

Uttar Pradesh reports 572 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, active cases stands at 2,261. The hospitalization rate is low: Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad

We are approaching all schools to participate in the vaccination of children in the 15-18 age group. We have 37 vaccination centres where Covaxin is administered in the city: Kolkata Mayor and TMC leader Firhad Hakim

Schools for classes 10 & 12 will continue with Covid19 protocols. Students of classes 9 to 12 can come to the school to receive vaccination: Suresh Kakani, Additional Commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel holds high-level emergency meeting to review Covid19 situation in the State, urges all the districts to be on alert and make all possible efforts to control the spread of the disease: CMO

Delhi reports 4,099 fresh cases, one death in the last 24 hours/ The active caseload is at 10,986 and the positivity rate at 6.46%.

66 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed onboard the Cordelia cruise ship that left Mumbai for Goa. It is currently harboured near the Mormugao Port cruise terminal, Vasco.

Over 29.22 lakh children have been administered COVID-19 vaccine doses across states/UTs till 4 pm on the first day of the inoculation drive of those in the age group of 15 to 18 years on Monday.

Media reports alleging that expired vaccines are being administered in India under its national COVID-19 vaccination programme are false and misleading and based on incomplete information: Government of India

Ekta Kapoor has tested positive for Covid19. In an Instagram post, she said, “Despite taking all precautions I have tested #covid positive. I am fine and I request everyone who has come in contact with me to please test themselves.”

Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur launches state-wide COVID-19 vaccination campaign for 15-18 years age group from Mandi:

Expressing concerns over rising COVID-19 cases, the Chief Election Commission of India has written to chief secretaries of 5 poll-bound states to 'accelerate' COVID vaccination, informed sources. 

Amid COVID-19 variant Omicron spread, Bombay High Court's principal seat has decided to hear matters through hybrid mode (virtual/physical) from tomorrow:

COVID-19 vaccination drive for around 2.5 lakh children of Pune in the age group of 15 to 18 years have begun today at 40 vaccination centres. We will try to vaccinate all these children as soon as possible, informed Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol at Dalvi Hospital in the city. 

Six people, who were in Patna to attend Bihar CM's 'Janta Darbar', tested positive for COVID-19: Official:

"All our effort is to ensure that schools & markets remain open & state economy keeps running, while COVID19 is defeated. For that, we have to vaccinate," said Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. 

Karnataka CM Basavaraj S Bommai launches vaccination drive for children between 15 to 18 years of age at BBMP Govt Girls High School in Bengaluru. Watch visuals here:

"Only Covaxin is approved for beneficiaries aged less than 18 years. Beneficiaries aged 18 & above are eligible for all vaccines. Validations have been put in place in the Co-WIN system to ensure that vaccination is carried out as per government policy," says Union Health Ministry. 

"There is no community spread (of #Omicron variant) in Kerala. Out of 152 Omicron cases, 50 are from high-risk countries, 84 are from low-risk countries, & only 18 are their contacts," said Kerala Health Minister Veena George. 

India gears up to vaccinate kids against COVID-19; here's how states are conducting the drive:

"I got my vaccination registration done online yesterday. Apart from the vaccination, we need to be extra careful & alert for our own safety," says a teenager

COVID-19 Vaccination begins for children in the age group of 15 to 18 years at Chandigarh's Govt Model Senior Secondary School, Manimajra:

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma launches #COVID19 vaccination drive for children in the age group of 15 to 18 years at Oil India Higher Secondary School, Duliajan in Dibrugarh district:

The Chief Minister will be launching the COVID-19 vaccination drive for children aged 15-18yrs today at Oil India Higher Sec School, Duliajan, Dibrugarh:

Actor John Abraham and his wife Priya Runchal test positive for COVID-19. 

"We both are vaccinated and experiencing mild symptoms," the actor said.

Karnataka Health Minister Dr Sudhakar K updated regarding fresh cases of COVID-19 variant Omicron in the state:

"All of them are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms and are in isolation on the hospital campus," Patna DM Chandrashekhar Singh said on Sunday:

Amid COVID spread, after Supreme Court now Allahabad High Court has also announced to function on virtual mode only from today onwards:

Rajasthan Health Minister, in a tweet, informed that he has tested COVID positive and is under home isolation. Tweeting in Hindi, he has also urged people who came in contact with him to get themselves tested. 

"On seeing the symptoms of corona infection, I got my COVID-19 test in Raipur this evening in which I was tested positive for the Coronavirus. Right now I am fine and I am taking treatment by staying in home isolation following the instructions of the doctors," Singh Deo tweeted. 

"I request all those who came in contact with me in the last 14 days to get themselves tested and stay in home isolation. I would also appeal people to strictly follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour," he said.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has issued new restrictions for COVID-19 containment in the union territory. The administration has asked authorities to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination. "All Districts to ensure the completion of Overdue Second Dose of COVID vaccinations within a week," the statement said.

District magistrates have been asked to establish and active their respective COVID war rooms to tackle the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The statement added, "There shall be a renewed focus on Panchayat level/Medical Block mapping of cases and effective micro-containment zones shall be constituted when the number of COVID-19 positive cases reaches 3 or above." 

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In view of the rising COVID-19 cases, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya convened a meeting to review public health preparedness and vaccination progress with Ministers of State and Union Territories on Sunday. While stressing strict compliance to COVID appropriate behaviour, the Centre underlined before the State and Union Territories that Test, Track, Treat, and Vaccination is the primary Mantra for the collective fight against the pandemic. 

Besides, the critical bottlenecks of the Medical infrastructure were discussed, and the States and Union Territories were advised by the centre to better utilize the funds allocated under Phase-II of the Emergency COVID19 Response Package (ECRP). 

“We have put up a strong fight against COVID earlier and this learning must be used to re-focus on efforts against Omicron variant, ” said Health Minister Mandaviya in the meeting.

Amidst the looming third wave of COVID-19 and Omicron threat, misinformation concerning the same is raising alarm among the community. Recently, an international media agency claimed that India missed its COVID-19 vaccination target. On December 31, BBC published an article stating that "How India missed its vaccination target."

In response to it, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) stated that the report is misleading and does not represent the complete picture. PIB also asserted that India's COVID vaccination drive has been one of the most successful and largest in comparison with many developed western countries with a significantly low population base to vaccinate.

"Since the start of the National COVID vaccination drive on 16th January 2021, India has administered over 90% of 1st dose and 65% of 2nd dose to its eligible citizens. In the drive, India has achieved several milestones unprecedented in the world, including administering over 100 crore doses in less than 9 months, administering 2.51 crore doses in a single day and administering 1 crore doses per day on several occasions, "Centre said.

"In Jaipur, all govt and private schools will be closed for classes 1 to 8 from Jan 3 till Jan 9. Other District collectors can take decisions as per requirement discussing it with education dept," reads the official release

The curfew starts at 10 pm and is effective till 5 am of next morning: