Bengaluru, January 9: Precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine for healthcare workers, frontline workers and persons aged above 60 with co-morbidities will be rolled out from January 10, with a target of vaccinating about 21 lakh beneficiaries in the state, the Karnataka Health Department said on Sunday.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) who have completed 9 months or 39 weeks from the date of second dose vaccination as registered on the CoWIN portal are eligible for precaution dose vaccination.

Similar is the criteria for the persons aged above 60 with co-morbidities, and no medical certificate is required for eligible beneficiaries to avail precaution dose.

Precaution dose will be the same vaccine dose which was administered previously. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will launch this precaution dose vaccination on Monday at 10 AM at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Centre here, while all districts have planned for launch by in-charge Ministers and taluk launch by MLAs, the Health department's release said. Covid-19 Booster ‘Precaution’ Dose To Be Of The Same Vaccine As Previous Doses Says Health Ministry.

"Nine months/ 39 weeks completed 6 lakh healthcare workers, 7 lakh frontline workers and 8 lakh persons aged above 60 with Co-morbidities will be receiving precaution dose," it said.  Beneficiaries who have received SPUTNIK as first and second dose are not eligible for precaution as of now, it added.

Noting that with existing vaccine stock all districts have geared up with micro plan, logistics, staff etc, the department said that the central government will dispatch required doses to the state, and the vaccination will be conducted free of cost at all government COVID-19 vaccination centres.

No new registration is required for precaution dose, it said, adding HCW and FLWs less than 60 years of age who have taken second doses from citizen category and not tagged on Co-WIN need to visit government COVID vaccination centres along with employment certificate in order to tag themselves in appropriate category before taking precaution dose after prescribed time interval.

With a target of 4.89 crore beneficiaries in the age group above 18 years, the State started COVID-19 vaccination from January 16, 2021 in a phased manner, and has vaccinated 4.8 crore (99 percent) beneficiaries with the first dose and 3.9 crore (81percent) beneficiaries with second dose, so far. No Lockdown in Delhi, National Capital Expected to Report Over 22,000 New COVID-19 Cases Today, Says CM Arvind Kejriwal.

Vaccination for children in the age group 15-18 years has been rolled out in the state from January 3, 2022, and with the target of 31.75 lakh beneficiaries, and the state has vaccinated 15.5 lakh (49 per cent) beneficiaries with the first dose till now.