Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, December 25 night announced vaccination programme for children between ages 15 and 18 years. The vaccination programme will commence on January 3, 2022. Additionally, the PM also announced precautionary dose or booster dose for healthcare workers and frontline workers from January 10. And those above 60 years with comorbidities, based on doctor's advice, will also be able to get the vaccine booster dose from January 10, 2022, said PM Modi.

Incidentally, earlier in the day, DGCI gave approval for emergency use of Covaxin in children between 12-18 years of age.

Wishing the nation a Merry Christmas in his address, PM Modi said that as people are preparing to welcome the new year, they will also have to be cautious about the spread of the contagious Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.

“All of you are ready to welcome 2022, but along with enthusiasm one needs to be cautious as the new variant of the coronavirus, Omicron, has created concern,” he stated.

He further went on to say that as the virus mutates, our ability to fight it is also growing. The PM said 18 lakh beds, 5 lakh oxygen supported beds and 90,000 beds only for children have been made ready.

He claimed that almost 90% of the eligible population has had at least one dose. “It’s a matter of pride that we had such an efficient vaccination programme and on such a scale. It’s a sign of the strength of our health systems, our medical personnel and teamwork delivery,” the PM added.

“We were alert to this need for vaccinations, on research, approval system and certification. It was a result of this that India had started its vaccination on January 16. We have crossed the figure for 141.1 crore vaccinated mark,” mentioned PM Modi.