Coronavirus: 1,800 vaccine slots booked by 12 to 15-year-olds

A day after the vaccination portal opened for children aged 12 to 15, the health ministry said that 1,800 appointments had been booked by Tuesday afternoon.

The portal opened on Monday morning, offering vaccines using mRNA technology – Pfizer and Moderna.

The health ministry said that a total of 830 slots were booked by noon on Monday, despite some paediatricians receiving threats from parents for recommending vaccination to minors.

The number increased to 1,800 by 1.30pm on Tuesday, taken out of a total of 2,176 slots booked for minors within the same time period. A further 2,161 slots were booked by adults.

Children can get vaccinated only with a signed consent form from both parents or legal guardians, the ministry said.

So far, more than a quarter of teenagers aged 16 and 17 have received the jab according to recent data by the health ministry. A total of 4,337 appointments for the vaccination of minors have been booked so far.

The ministry also said that 600 vaccinations were performed on Monday at walk-in vaccination centres.

As of Monday, 74 per cent of the population had received the first dose of an anti-Covid vaccine and 66 per cent were fully vaccinated.