Chandigarh: The first day of the Covid-19 vaccination for the age group of 12 to 14 years old saw just 37 children getting jabbed in the city on Wednesday — a poor response because of examinations in a few schools and short time to decide and register, according to sources.
For 12-year-old Ashok, the vaccination was much awaited. “All in my family are vaccinated and they were waiting for my Covid shots. We all plan to go abroad soon,” said Ashok.
For 14-year-old Avni Garg, it was a feel good factor after being vaccinated. “My parents wanted me to get the protection soon before a fourth wave. We still need to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, but after vaccination the risk reduces to a large extent,” she said.
But as the cases have become almost negligible, there were not many takers in the group. “This age group has not witnessed many Covid infection and that is why there is hardly any interest among parents. Even for the 15 to 17 years of age group, while the initial response was tremendous, it gradually declined when the surge decreased,” said a public health expert.
“Due to the ongoing examinations in schools, not many children came for the vaccine. We expect the numbers to rise soon as almost all city residents are vaccinated fully now,” said UT director health services Dr Suman Singh.
The targeted population for this group in the city is 45,000. “I am a bit reluctant to get my son vaccinated now. The cases are hardly being reported and I do not want to go for unnecessary vaccination at this point,” said Ramya Kapoor, a resident of Sector 27.
