Om Birla kicks off Covid-19 vaccine drive for 15-18 age group in Kota

Lok Sabha Speaker and Kota MP Om Birla kicked off the vaccination drive against COVID-19 for children in the 15-18 age group in the city from a government dispensary on Monday.

The free vaccination drive will protect children and the coming generations from the disease, Birla said while speaking to media persons at the Vigyan Nagar government dispensary.

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly across the country and is likely to gain further pace, he said, adding that people have to be more cautious and follow protocols.

Special vaccination camps for coaching students were held at three campuses of Allen Career Institute, where medical teams gave the first dose of the Covid vaccine to 1,228 students on the first day of the drive.

Over 25,000 children were vaccinated with the first dose against a target of 55,000 for the day, an official said, adding that data from the centres is still being compiled.