Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said children in the age group of 15-18 years will get vaccination against COVID19 from January 3, 2022. He also announced ‘precautionary’ (third) dose for healthcare and frontline workers will be administered from January 10.

In a late evening televised address to the nation, Modi also said that those  above 60 years of age with comorbidities will be eligible for ‘precaution’ dose from January 10 on the recommendation of their doctors.  

Narendra Modi said India will soon have nasal vaccine and world’s 1 st DNA vaccine. Modi urged people not to panic, but at the same time asked them to be cautious and follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour.

He urged people to be wary of Omicron variant, but advised them not to panic. “Do not fall for rumours, do not fall for hearsay. We will take all decisions based on scientific evidence," Modi said.

The Prime Minister noted that the decision to vaccinate 15-18 year old children will not only strengthen India’s fight against COVID19 , but also help “our students in schools and colleges health wise”. “Infections are rising across several nations due to a new variant of Covid, Omicron. In India, there have been a few cases as well. I call upon all of you to not panic”, he said.

Today, the nation has 18 lakh isolation beds, 5 lakh oxygen supported beds, 1.4 lakh ICU beds and 90,000 special beds for kids, Modi said. “Today, we have over 3,000 functional PSA Oxygen plants and 4 lakh cylinders have been provided to all states”, he added. 

Realising the seriousness of Covid-19, as on date more than 141 crore doses have been administered in India. More than 90 per cent eligible population has been vaccinated with the first dose of vaccine, he highlighted. About 61 per cent adult population are fully vaccinated. Some states have vaccinated 100 per cent of their eligible population, Modi noted. 

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