COVID vaccination: Tamil Nadu claims 100% vaccination of children from Government Schools

The Tamil Nadu state government has claimed that all the students from government schools under the age group of 15 to 18 have been vaccinated. Amidst the rising COVID cases India has begun the COVID-19 vaccination drive for children between the age group of 15 to 18 years.

The government has approved only the indigenously made Covaxin vaccination dose from Bharat Biotech for vaccinating the students under the age bracket as ordered by the Union Health Secretary - Rajesh Bhushan. 

Tamil Nadu state government in a recently issued order announced the closure of schools in the state for all the classes. The government has also declared a holiday until January 31, 2022, for the school students including students from classes 10 and 12, considering the increasing COVID cases in the state. The order released by the state government has further mentioned that the exams scheduled from January 19 for the students from classes 10 and 12 have also been postponed. 

Although the holiday has been announced for students from class 1 to 9, offline classes were conducted in schools only for the students of class 10 and 12, however, due to the health risks and considering the welfare of the students due to the spike in the new Omicron variant, the government released a circular stating that holiday has been declared for students of all classes including those of class 10, 11 and 12 until January 31, 2022. The order further states that authorities will announce fresh dates for the exams scheduled for class 10 and 12 students during this period.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25, 2021, announced the vaccination for children between the age group of 15 to 18 years. State governments were asked to enforce the same and prepare vaccination teams for the children in the said age group in order to avoid any confusion with the vaccination process for adults. 

States including West Bengal, Chandigarh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Telangana, and Karnataka were among the first to commence the COVID vaccination for the children. Schools, colleges, and other educational institutions across the country are shut at present amidst the increasing COVID cases and online classes are being conducted to avoid loss of learning.

Also Read: NEET PG Counselling 2021: MCC Releases Notice Regarding Changing Categories to Unreserved (UR)