Booster dose only after 9-12 months of second shot? Centre to release guidelines by Monday

Booster dose only after 9-12 months of second shot? Centre to release guidelines by Monday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Saturday announced a 'precaution vaccine dose' for healthcare and frontline workers and those above 60 with co-morbidities.

Published: 27th December 2021 02:25 AM 

A police officer, left, watches as a family gets their their photograph taken in front of a barricade near the gate of Sacred Heart Cathedral which is closed to general public in Delhi. (Photo | AP)

By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Though the process to administer a booster dose to healthcare and frontline workers will begin on January 10, beneficiaries may be eligible for it only 9-12 months after the second dose.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Saturday announced a “precaution vaccine dose” for healthcare and frontline workers and those above 60 with co-morbidities.

Officials in the Union health ministry on Sunday said the blueprint of the precautionary shot in the vaccination policy is being worked out and could be announced by Monday.

“From the scientific evidence point of view, it makes sense not to offer the third dose to everyone but to those who are 9-12 months away from their last vaccine dose,” said a senior official in the health ministry.

“All this will be clear once we come out with details of the additional vaccination strategy,” the officer added.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh reported their first Omicron cases on Sunday and Maharashtra recorded 31 more cases, pushing the state’s tally to 141, the highest in the country.

Himachal Pradesh’s first Omicron case is a fully vaccinated 45-year-old woman who returned from Canada. In Madhya Pradesh, as many as nine cases have been confirmed among the 26 foreign returnees who recently tested positive for the coronavirus in Indore.

Haryana and Chandigarh, too, reported more Omicron cases on Sunday. Omicron has pushed several states to reimpose Covid-19 restrictions.

On Sunday, the Delhi government decided to bring back the 11 pm to 5 am night curfew. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Karnataka have also reimposed night curfews.