Over 9 lakh people in India get 'precautionary dose' against COVID on the first day!

On the very first day of the booster-dose vaccination drive, more than nine lakh beneficiaries received their third dose of the COVID vaccine in India. Notably, after the advice of doctors and experts, the drive to administer the booster dose in the country was kick-started on January 10. Read on to know more about this ongoing vaccination drive in the country.

Third dose available only for the priority group at present

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Under the ambit of this drive, healthcare personnel, frontline workers and immuno-compromised senior citizens are eligible to get the booster shot on a priority basis. According to the conditions laid by the authorities, only those who have taken the second jab at least 39 weeks ago are eligible to take the third dose now.

Moreover, the government has not allowed the mix and match of vaccines, meaning, the third dose will be of the same brand as the earlier two doses. Like the first two doses, the third dose will be administered free of cost at government hospitals. With no mandatory prior appointment, people from the priority group can walk in and take the jab at the centres.

Over 2.6 crore adolescents inoculated partially in India

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Apart from this, the drive to innoculate children aged between 15-18 against COVID was initiated across the country on January 3, this year. According to the data on CoWIN, in the course of 8 days, more than 2.6 crore adolescents have been administered with at least a single jab. Moreover, after administering more than 82 lakh doses of vaccine (to all age groups) on Monday, more the cumulative count of India's vaccination coverage against COVID has crossed 152.78 crores.

-with inputs from IANS