18% kids in Chandigarh not jabbed even once

Even as classes at Chandigarh schools and colleges have fully resumed, around 18% of the eligible children, aged between 15 and 18, have not shown up for even the first dose of the anti-Covid vaccine.

Not only the first dose coverage, Chandigarh is even lagging in fully immunising the children, as only 36% of the eligible teenagers have taken both doses of vaccine so far, data from the UT health department shows.

According to the population projected by the central government, about 72,000 children in the age group are eligible for vaccination in the UT.

Since January 3, the health department has inoculated 58,925 (82%) children with the first dose of Covaxin and 26,294 (36%) are fully vaccinated, falling short of its January 26 target of vaccinating the entire eligible population.

While earlier vaccination certificate was mandatory for children to attend offline classes when these resumed on February 1, in a February 14 order, UT did away with the requirement.

“In the third wave of the pandemic, which peaked in January this year, many children also got infected with the virus. Due to this, they became ineligible for vaccine for the next three months, which has slowed down the vaccination drive. Also, several parents are themselves hesitant to take the jab, so their children also remain unvaccinated,” said Dr Suman Singh, director, health services, Chandigarh.

She added, “Though the UT health department is even setting up camps in schools, the response is quite low. Sometimes, not even a single child shows up. Also, some parents have moved the Punjab and Haryana high court with the plea that vaccination cannot be mandatory. Therefore, as vaccination is voluntary, we are not sure if we will be able to achieve the 100% target. But children should come forward, as no side effect has been reported in any child in Chandigarh post immunisation.”

98% senior citizens take precaution dose
Though few frontline workers and health workers have come forward to take the precaution (third) dose, the most vulnerable section – senior citizens with comorbidities – has shown a good response, as 98% of them have already taken the shot.

Since January 10, only 3,534 healthcare workers (13% of the target), 5,445 frontline workers (24%) and 15,305 (98%) senior citizens with comorbidities have received the precautionary jab in the city.

As per officials, the healthcare workers are not taking the third dose as many of them got infected with the virus during the third wave.

On January 26, Chandigarh had achieved its target of vaccinating 100% of its adult population with both doses. The Centre had set a target of 8.43 lakh adults to be immunised in Chandigarh. As of Sunday, 10,81,201 (128%) people, including migrants, have taken the first shot here, while 8,67,540 (102%) have been fully vaccinated. Hindustan Times