Covaxin for teens,Govt issues guidelines for precaution doses

The government released guidelines  on Covid-19 vaccination for 15 to 18-year-olds as well as 'precaution doses' for frontline workers and people above the age of 60 years with co-morbidities on Monday. As per the guidelines, children in the age-group of 15 to 18 years are eligible only for the Covaxin Covid-19 vaccine from January 3, 2022 onwards. On Saturday, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had granted emergency use authorisation to indigenously-developed Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for children above 12 years with certain conditions. It is the second vaccine to receive the DCGI nod for use among those below 18 years after Zydus Cadila's needle-free Covid-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D.

For those healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) who have received two doses, the third dose would be available from January 10, 2022. The prioritisation and sequencing of this precaution dose would be based on the completion of nine months or 39 weeks from the date of administration of the second dose. All persons aged 60 years and above with comorbidities who have received two doses of vaccine, will on doctor’s advice be provided with a precaution dose from January 10, 2022. Here too, the prioritisation and sequencing of the dose would be based on the completion of nine months or 39 weeks from the date of administration of the second dose. 

Those eligible for 'precaution doses' or booster shots will be able to register for the shot via their existing CoWIN account. The CoWIN system will alert beneficiaries when they become eligible for the booster shot, that is, when it has been nine months since the administration of the second dose. Registration for booster shots can be done online or on-site. The details of administration of the precaution dose will be reflected in the beneficiary's vaccine certificate.