The government has reduced the time between the second and precautionary doses of the Covid vaccine from 9 to 6 months. The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), the government’s vaccination advisory body, had recommended shortening the gap between the second and booster doses.
Previously, the duration between the second and precaution dose was 9 months. It has now been reduced to 6 months or 26 weeks.
“The precaution dose will be administered after completion of 6 months or 26 weeks from the date of administration of the second dose at Private Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs) for all beneficiaries between the ages of 18 and 59,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter to chief secretaries and administrators of all states and union territories.
“For beneficiaries aged 60 and up, as well as Health Care Workers (HCWs) and Front Line Workers (FLWs), a precaution dose would be administered free of charge after 6 months or 26 weeks from the date of administration of the second dose at Government CVCs,” the letter stated.
Read Also: New Covid Variant Discovered in India May Fuel New Infections: Experts
