Jab for teens only at higher healthcare centres in Telangana:

The vaccine administration drive for 15 to 18 years children, scheduled to start from January 3, will be initially organised in larger government hospitals located in Corporations and District headquarters where doctors and other senior healthcare workers are available.

“There will be no vaccine administration for children where doctors are not available in government healthcare facilities. Children born in 2007 or before are eligible to get vaccinated. Our estimates suggest that 22.78 lakh children between 15 and 18 years are there in Telangana,” Health Minister, T Harish Rao on Tuesday said.

The State government will also urge the Ministry of



Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to provide booster doses to all senior citizens above 60 years. “At present, MOHFW guidelines stipulate that persons above 60 years with co-morbidities should be vaccinated. However, there is a need to vaccinate everybody who is above 60 years and we will write a letter regarding this issue to MoHFW,” he said

Overall, Telangana will need around 70 lakh doses of Covid vaccines to complete the vaccination for children between 15 years and 18 years and those above 60 years. “I urge people to get vaccinated in large numbers. We have close to 30 lakh Covid doses in buffer stock and there is no shortage of vaccines in Telangana,” Harish Rao said.