Maharashtra Schools Closing Decision to be Taken at District Level, Children Vaccination Plan Ready: Edu Min Varsha Gaikwad

With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation closing the schools in Mumbai, Maharashtra State School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad has shared the Vaccination plan for children in the state, Maharashtra school students will soon be getting vaccinated under the Children Vaccination Plan for 15-18-year-olds. The Education Minister has also announced that the decision of closing Schools in Maharashtra has been left under the District Authorities.

Vaccinations for 15 to 18 age group

Schools in Maharashtra have prepared to conduct free vaccinations for children between the ages group tp 15 to 18.  After conducting a review of the preparations for the same, the state education minister announced on her Twitter account that most of the schools have set a target to administer the 1st dose of the vaccine to maximum students in January 2022 itself.

The minister while emphasizing the need to follow COVID-19 safety protocols, stated that the district authorities across the state can make a decision on reopening or closing the schools based on which the BMC has reviewed the situation in Mumbai and decided to close schools until January 31, 2022. 

Increase vaccination centres

In the discussions conducted on vaccinating the children, the option of increasing vaccination centres in a few districts was also considered. The Education Minister in her tweet stated that the option of increasing the number of vaccinators for Osmanabad, Chandrapur, Solapur, and Wardha where the Japanese Encephalitis vaccination campaign is also being conducted will be studied in coordination with the state health department.

Closing of the schools in Maharashtra has been demanded by many of the district authorities due to the increase in the COVID cases over the last few days. Pune district authorities are also planning to conduct a review meeting today in which the possibility of imposing restrictions may be looked into and it is also likely that schools and colleges might be ordered to be closed or operate at a lower capacity.

Also Read: NEET MDS 2022 Exam Dates Announced, Registration to Start Today at nbe.edu.in