5 lakh teens register to get COVID-19 vaccines from tomorrow
What's the story
A day before India widens its COVID-19 vaccination drive to include teenagers aged 15-18 years, over five lakh such beneficiaries registered themselves to be inoculated.
As many as 5,07,412 teenagers aged 15-18 registered themselves on the government's vaccination portal Co-WIN as of 3 pm on Sunday.
Registrations for the demographic had commenced on January 1, 2022.
Context
Why does it matter?
Monday will mark the expansion of India's COVID-19 vaccination drive to include minors.
Parents have been calling for vaccinating kids for several months as schools had started reopening.
Calls for faster vaccinations have only grown louder amid the threat of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
Notably, only COVAXIN will be administered to the 15-18 demographic, the central government had earlier notified states/union territories.
Vaccination drive
India to also launch booster doses
India is set to commence vaccinations for the 15-18 year old demographic in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Christmas Day announcement.
The same day, Modi had announced that India will also start rolling out a third "precaution" dose for healthcare/frontline workers and those aged over 60 years with comorbidities starting January 10, 2022.
Vaccines
2 vaccines approved for minors in India
Currently, only two vaccines have been cleared for minors in India: COVAXIN and ZyCoV-D (by Zydus Cadila, also known as Cadila Healthcare).
ZyCoV-D was approved for the age group 12-18 years in October. However, it is yet to be rolled out nationwide.
COVAXIN has been in use for vaccinating adults since last January. It was approved for the 12-18 year demographic on December 25.
Data
Nearly 3.49 crore COVID-19 cases across India
As of Sunday morning, India's COVID-19 tally had risen to nearly 3.49 crore cases and 4.81 lakh deaths.
On Sunday, India added 27,533 new cases, 284 fresh fatalities, and 9,249 fresh discharges. India has 1,22,801 active cases.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.55%, while the weekly rate reached 1.35%.
Until 2:30 pm, India had administered nearly 145.6 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Omicron
India's Omicron tally reaches 1,525
Meanwhile, India's tally of Omicron cases has reached 1,525, with cases being detected in 23 states/UTs.
Maharashtra topped the list of worst-hit states with 460 cases, followed by Delhi (351 cases).
The other worst-affected regions include Gujarat (136 cases), Tamil Nadu (117), Kerala (109), Rajasthan (69), and Telangana (67).
Overall, a total of 560 patients infected with Omicron have recovered, migrated, or been discharged.