From January 19, the Kerala government has issued guidelines to begin COVID-19 vaccination in schools for students aged 15 to 18. On Sunday, January 16, a high-level meeting attended by Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty and Kerala Health Minister Veena George reached a conclusion. It was resolved at the meeting that district task forces, with the help of the education department, would identify the schools where COVID-19 immunization would be given. Vaccination sites will be chosen from schools with at least 500 students.
The Minister of Education, V Sivankutty said in a statement, “from January 19, 967 schools with over 500 student beneficiaries will be transformed into vaccination centers for youngsters aged 15 to 18. Vaccinations will be given to a total of 8.14 lakh students.”
According to Veena George, the waiting space, immunization room, and observation room must all be provided by the school administration. School vaccination sessions will be linked with neighboring Government COVID-19 immunization centers. Further, he stated that before immunization, all security procedures, including thermal scanning of students, should be in place.
The authorities must compile a list of kids who will receive COVID-19 vaccination in a single day and tell them of their appointment time.
It is necessary to guarantee that all students who are eligible for immunization have completed the Co-Win registration process.
Furthermore, vaccine doses will not be given to children who have a fever. Children will be monitored for 30 minutes after immunization, and if any child develops a health problem, an ambulance with oxygen will be dispatched.
The children will be transferred to a nearby Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) management center for treatment. The COVID-19 vaccination team will consist of a medical officer from the health department, a vaccinator, a staff nurse, and school support staff.
According to the order, all sessions will be conducted in accordance with COVID-19 protocols. Meanwhile, the state health department reported 18,123 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours on Sunday.
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