New Delhi, January 10: India on Monday began administrating COVID-19 booster doses for people above 60 with comorbidities, healthcare workers and frontline workers. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that there is no need for new registration for beneficiaries of the precautionary COVID-19 vaccine dose. Eligible people can directly take an appointment or walk-in to any vaccination centre. Meanwhile, the online appointment facility for COVID-19 booster doses began on January 8. COVID-19 Booster Doses For Citizens Above 60, Healthcare Workers To Begin From Today In India.

However, the precautionary or the third dose for the healthcare workers, frontline workers and those above 60 with comorbidities will be the same vaccines as was given to them previously. The Centre had also clarified that there would not be any mix and match. This implies that people who had received the second vaccine dose of Covishield will receive the same as the booster dose.

The decision to administer the precautionary dose was taken amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in the country. Notably, people above 60 years who have co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension and other chronic diseases are eligible for the precautionary dose. People can be administered the booster COVID-19 vaccine dose only after nine months of receiving the second vaccine jab. Booster Dose in India: Gap Between 2nd COVID-19 Vaccine Shot and Precaution Dose Likely to Be 9-12 Months, Say Official Sources.

Apart from booster doses, vaccination drive for children between 15-18 age group began from January 3. Notably, teenagers are being administered only Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25 last year, in a televised address, announced that vaccination against COVID-19 for children between 15-18 years would start from January 3, while "precaution dose" for healthcare and frontline workers would be administered from January 10.

According to a study by the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the risk of hospitalisation for Omicron cases after three doses of vaccine compared to those who are unvaccinated has reduced. The first study showed that the risk of hospitalisation is 81 percent lower after three doses compared to unvaccinated Omicron cases.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 10, 2022 09:16 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).