With schools shut, vaccination of teens hits a speed bump

So far, 2.52 lakh children have been vaccinated against the 33.46 eligible population in the age group of 15-18 years.

Only about 50 per cent of eligible children in the category were covered in Chennai, while its neighbouring district, Kancheepuram, recorded the highest of more than 97 per cent. There are six districts that have inoculated less than 70 per cent of the eligible children.

“The eligible population in Chennai is comparatively higher. Parents of a section of the children are hesitant to get their children vaccinated. The response is good in other districts and we are also working along with the school education department to identify more unvaccinated children,” said Dr Vinay Kumar, Immunisation Officer, Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

Identifying dropped-out students is also a challenge to vaccination but the department is working on preparing a list of these children.

“To identify those who dropped out of schools or students of ITIs and polytechnic institutions, the school education department is preparing the list using previous academic years’ details. The list will be used by the health department to identify these students and vaccinate them,” a senior official from the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine said.