Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has readied 37 vaccination centres across its 16 boroughs to administer the Covid shot to children aged between 12 and 14 years from Monday.
These 37 units have so far been administering Covaxin. From Monday, Biological E’s intramuscular vaccine Corbevax will be administered to the children in the 12-14 age group, KMC officials said.
Two doses of Corbevax will be administered at an interval of 28 days.
“Covaxin and Covishield will not be administered from these 37 centres for the time being. This has been done to ensure that no child in the 12-14 age group is given any Covid vaccine other than Corbevax,” an official in the KMC’s health department said.
According to the central government’s order, only Corbevax can be injected into the children between 12 and 14 years. There are over 30 lakh children in the 12-14 age group in the state. Sources in the state health department said Bengal had already stocked up 31 lakh doses of Corbevax.
“In Kolkata, we have distributed around 88,000 doses for the roll-out of Corbevax from Monday,” said Ashim Das Malakar, state family welfare officer. “Over the course of time additional supplies of vaccines will arrive.”
Officials in the health department said they had held rounds of talks with their colleagues in the school education department and Kolkata Municipal Corporation about the roll-out. Chetla Girls High School are among the schools that will host a vaccination camp for the children of the 12-14 age group from Monday. KMC officials said they would send vaccinators to all schools willing to organise camps on their premises.
Mayor Firhad Hakim also posted a list of vaccination centres across Kolkata on social media.
“We are ready to reach out to any school that is willing to conduct vaccination. The authorities need to inform us and give us time to set up a team of vaccinators,” an official in the KMC health department said. “The schools will have to set aside a room for vaccination and another for observation, and also earmark a waiting arena.”