Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], January 3 (ANI): As India started inoculating children between the age group of 15 and 18 on Monday, Kerala designated 551 exclusive vaccination centres for the teens.

Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, State Health Minister Veena George said, "Out of the 1426 total vaccination centres, 551 centres are exclusive for children. Covaxin doses will be administered to children and we have installed pink board outside all the centres, which are exclusive children. There are over 15 lakh children, who are eligible for COVID-19 jabs in the State."

Also Read | COVID-19 Third Wave Will End in April 2022, Says IIT-Kanpur Prof Manindra Agarwal.

She further said that the State expects to finish vaccination of children in the next 10 days, adding that the Centre has provided 5 lakh vaccine doses last night and more than 1.40 lakh doses are expected today.

On Omicron cases, the Health Minister said, "There are 152 cases from the new variant of COVID-19 that have been reported in the State. Of the 152 cases, 50 are from low-risk countries, 84 from high-risk countries, and 18 from primary contacts."

Also Read | Kerala: Man Hacked With Machete by Three Men While Rescuing Another Person From Assault in Kottiyam, Accused Arrested.

The current list of 'at-risk' countries for the Covid-19 Omicron variant includes the United Kingdom, other countries in Europe, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong, and Israel.

The health minister further said, "As many as 98 per cent of the adult population have been vaccinated with the first dose and 79 per cent with the second dose." (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)