New Delhi: The central government is committed to providing ‘extra security cover’ to health care and frontline workers, said Union health minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday, as India began administering ‘precautionary dose’ of Covid-19 vaccines to health care and frontline staff, as well as citizens with co-morbidities aged 60 and above. Personnel deployed for election duty in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa have also been designated as frontline workers. Delhi begins administering COVID-19 vaccine ‘precautionary dose’ to frontline workers and senior citizens above 60 years of age with co-morbidities.
The drive to administer ‘precautionary’ or booster shots to the said people was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an address to the nation on December 25th last year. Speaking in an unscheduled address, PM Modi also said that the exercise will kick off on January 10th. An estimated 1.05 crore healthcare and 1.9 crore frontline workers, and 2.75 crore comorbid people in the 60 plus age group would be administered the precaution dose according to schedule, Health Ministry sources said.
Last week, Dr VK Paul, Niti Aayog member (health) clarified that the extra or third dose will be of the same jab with which a beneficiary was inoculated the first two times. Providing further convenience, the Union health ministry also said that those who intend to take their precautionary dose need not register separately for it. Instead, the ministry said, people can schedule their appointments through the CoWin app and, once scheduled, can simply go to the centre and get vaccinated for the third time. The facility to schedule appointments for boosters opened last Saturday.