Picture : Twitter / ANI
The precaution dose of COVID vaccine to healthcare and frontline workers and comorbid people aged 60 and above began from today in a bid to stymie the coronavirus spread driven by its Omicron variant.
Personnel deployed for election duty in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa have also been designated as frontline workers.
Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, in a tweet on Sunday, said reminder SMSes have been sent to over one crore healthcare and frontline workers and senior citizens for their precaution dose.
हेल्थकेयर व फ़्रंटलाइन वर्कर्स तथा 60+ आयु के लोगों को डॉक्टर की सलाह पर #PrecautionDose देने का कार्यक्रम आज से देशभर में शुरू हो रहा है।
PM @NarendraModi जी के नेतृत्व में सरकार प्राथमिकता के साथ हेल्थकेयर व फ़्रंटलाइन वर्कर्स को अतिरिक्त सुरक्षा कवच देने हेतु प्रतिबद्ध है।
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) January 10, 2022
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.
There would be no mix-and-match of vaccines for the precaution dose.
The beneficiaries would be given the same vaccine as their previous two jabs.
COVID vaccine ‘precautionary dose’ being administered to senior citizens above 60 years of age with co-morbidities at a vaccination center in Patna, Bihar pic.twitter.com/96DES0RV4k
— ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2022
According to guidelines issued by the Union health ministry, the gap between the date of administering the second dose of vaccine and the precaution dose would be nine months (39 weeks).
CoWIN will send reminder messages to all those eligible for this dose and after administration of the shot, it will be noted in the digital vaccination certificate.
