Are you eligible for precautionary dose of Covid vaccine? Here all you need to know

by Souporno Ghosh Student

India will start administering a booster or “precautionary dose” of Covid-19 vaccine to health and frontline workers, and people aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10, 2022. Today, as the country kickstarts the process of providing an additional layer of protection for the vulnerable groups. 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. 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.

How to register for a precautionary dose online?

Online appointments for precaution dose began on the CoWin portal. However, there is also the option of an onsite appointment.

- All senior citizens aged 60 years or above with comorbidities will be able to get the precaution dose using their current Co-WIN account.

- Beneficiaries can register in advance, on-site, or through the Co-WIN Facilitated Cohort Registration procedure.

- Eligibility will be based on the date of administration of 2nd dose as recorded in the Co-WIN system.

- Verification will be done preferably using Aadhaar.

Apart from this, CoWIN will send reminder messages to all eligible candidates, and the dose will be reflected in the digital vaccination certificates. The eligible candidates who have completed both the vaccine doses can directly walk into any vaccination centre or schedule an online appointment through the CoWIN portal.

Who is eligible to take the precautionary booster dose?

According to government guidelines, the precautionary COVID-19 vaccination will be administered to healthcare & frontline workers and senior citizens (over 60 years of age with co-morbidities) who have completed the second dose from January 10. However, a 9-month or 39-week interval between the second and precautionary dose is mandatory.