Over 12.3 lakh children were administered Covid-19 vaccine doses across states and Union Territories till 3pm on the first day of the inoculation drive of those in the age group of 15 to 18 years on Monday.

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited a Covid vaccination site for children at RML hospital here on Monday and interacted with some of the beneficiaries.

Over 39.88 lakh beneficiaries in the 15-18 age group had registered on the CoWIN portal till Monday afternoon and over 12.3 lakh children had received their doses across the country, according to the portal data at 3pm. The process to vaccinate children commenced in the country amid fears of another surge driven by the omicron variant.

A health worker administers Covid-19 vaccine to a teenager in Thane, Maharashtra, on Monday. PTI Photo

The health minister had on Sunday advised states and Union Territories to ensure separate vaccination centres, session sites, queues (if at same session where adult vaccination is ongoing) or separate vaccination teams (if at the same session site) to avoid the mixing-up of Covid-19 vaccines during the administration of shots to those in the age group of 15-18 years.

Stressing on the need to ensure smooth implementation of new vaccination guidelines, Mandaviya, who interacted virtually with state health ministers and principal secretaries, additional chief secretaries of states and UTs, advised them to ensure the orientation of vaccinators and vaccination team members and the identification of dedicated session sites for this category of beneficiaries.

According to the guidelines issued by the Union health ministry: “The vaccine option against Covid-19 for children in the age group of 15-18 years would be Covaxin only. All those whose birth year is 2007 or before, shall be eligible.”