TN schools told to prepare list of eligible students for Covid vaccination

Health Minister Ma Subramanian had recently announced that about 33.20 lakh children in the age group of 15-18 will be administered vaccines from January 3.

A senior official from the School Education Department said that as the government is planning to conduct vaccination camps in the school itself, all the headmasters were instructed to prepare the list of the students, who are entitled for vaccination and would send it to the authorities concerned in the Health Department.

"The number of vaccination doses will be sent according to the list of the students," he said adding that schools were also asked the obtain consent from the parents if their children have any severe health disorders.

Stating that the government is planning to conduct vaccination camps once the schools were reopened, the official said the children will be vaccinated on the weekends so that physical classes will not be disturbed as they had already lost several months of academic sessions.

He said during vaccination camps parents will be asked to come with their children to the schools by adopting all the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Claiming that the government has planned to vaccinate the children in the age group of 15-18 within four months, the official said "In addition, the government is also planning to distribute Vitamin and Zinc tablets for the students in the state-run schools to boost their immune system since there was an indication of the third wave of coronavirus spread.

The official also said that all the school management was asked to ensure that the parents of their students were also vaccinated in time.

"They were also instructed to allay fears of certain parents, who might be hesitating to vaccinate their children, by creating awareness about the importance of inoculation amid the spreading of Omicron COVID-19 variant", he said. Since some students might develop fever after vaccination, the schools were asked to allow them for taking adequate rest till they come to normal, he added.