After the Central government gave its nod for COVID-19 vaccination of the children in the 15-18 age group, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that nearly 1.4 crore children in the state belonging to this category will be inoculated within a set time limit beginning today.
COVID-19 vaccination for the 15-18 age group began on Monday morning across the country. As many as 12,57,603 children in the 15-18 age group have registered so far on CoWIN platform to get vaccinated.
Addressing the media after launching the vaccination drive for the 15-18 age group from Civil Hospital in Lucknow, Adityanath said, "The vaccination for the age group of 15 to 18 years of age is kickstarting today. The registration for the same had begun on January 1. There are almost 1 crore 40 lakh children in this age group in the state whom we have to inoculate within a set time limit. Covaxin has been suggested for them. For this, vaccination has begun on 2,150 booths in the entire state. There are 39 such booths in Lucknow where the vaccination for the age group of 15 to 18 years of age is being done."
Stating that the COVID-19 virus has "weakened" now, Uttar Pradesh Yogi said that people still need to be alert and follow the COVID appropriate behavior, especially the people with comorbidities.
"It is true that Omicron is highly transmissible, but it is also true that in comparison to the second wave, Omicron is quite weak. It is like a normal viral fever. It is necessary to be alert. There is no need to panic," he said.
Comparing the present scenario in the state with the second wave in April-May last year, the Chief Minister said that the number of days for the full recovery of patients was far more than the present scenario along with the absence of post-COVID complications that were observed in the second wave.
"During the second wave in March-April, we had observed that the people who tested positive for the virus, took nearly 15-20 days to recover. Post-COVID complications were reported too. There is no such situation with Omicron. The virus has weakened now. Still, people with comorbidities need to be more alert. The state government is continuously coordinating with the Central government," he said.
The Chief Minister further said that out of the 2,261 active cases in the state, more than 2,100 patients are in home isolation which shows that the virus has "weakened".
"We have beds available in sufficient numbers along with the availability of vaccines. We have the capability to test 4 lakh tests per day. There are a total of 8 Omicron cases in UP out of which 3 have already tested negative. Rest are in home isolation. There are 2,261 active cases in the state at present out of which more than 2,100 patients are in home isolation, which shows that the virus has weakened," he said.
"The fight against COVID that had begun on March 25, 2020, is at its decisive stage and soon COVID will end," Adityanath added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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