India to begin administering “precautionary” dose of COVID-19 vaccine from Jan 10: Check guidelines here

Precautionary COVID-19 vaccine dose: The Union Government on Monday shared guidelines for the administration of “precautionary doses” to three priority groups, including healthcare workers, frontline workers and people aged over 60 years suffering from comorbidities. The drive for administering “precautionary doses”, which were announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, will be rolled out from January 10. Here’s everything to know about the guidelines for the administration of “precautionary doses”.

“Precautionary dose” for COVID-19: Eligibility

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, healthcare workers, frontline workers and people aged above 60 years having comorbidities will be eligible for these “precautionary doses”, at least according to the information shared so far. Among this group as well, beneficiaries would only be able to get the dose administered once 39 weeks, i.e. nine months, have elapsed after they received the second dose of the vaccine.

Moreover, according to the guidelines, beneficiaries would also be sent text messages from CoWIN once they become eligible for the “precautionary dose”, so that these beneficiaries are aware that their third shot is due.

COVID-19 vaccine “precautionary” dose: What to carry

Beneficiaries older than 60 years of age would only get the “precautionary” dose based on the advise of a doctor and therefore, to get the shot, they would need to carry the certificate of comorbidities to the vaccination centres. However, there would be no need to upload such a recommendation by a doctor on CoWIN to book a vaccination slot.

Vaccine booking for additional dose: Is walk-in available?

Beneficiaries would be able to book vaccination slots on CoWIN platform, but they would also be able to forego that and just walk into a vaccination centre to get the dose administered, according to the guidelines. However, for this, beneficiaries would need to ensure in advance that the centre they wish to visit offers walk-in facilities or not.

Vaccination certificate after “precautionary” dose

Once the eligible beneficiaries get a precautionary dose, the details of that having been administered would reflect suitably in the vaccination certificates.