COVID-19 vaccine precautionary dose: How eligible adults can book slots
What's the story
The Union Health Ministry on Friday announced that the country's entire adult population would be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine precautionary doses, or booster shots, from Sunday (April 10).
However, according to the government, these doses will be administered to those aged above 18 years only at private vaccine centers.
Take a look at the steps for booking an appointment for the booster dose.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The Centre announced precautionary doses for all adults at a time when the majority of the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted as India has been witnessing a decline in cases.
Notably, the move came after several experts earlier called for booster shots to be administered to everyone in the 18+ age group amid predictions that India could witness its fourth wave from June 2022.
Co-WIN platform
Follow these steps on Co-WIN to register
All eligible adults can book slots for precautionary doses through the Centre's Co-WIN portal.
In order to book an appointment, one needs to log into Co-WIN's self-registration window first.
There, they need to enter the mobile number used for booking slots for their first and second vaccine doses.
They will then receive a one-time password (OTP), which needs to be submitted for authentication.
Next steps
Schedule appointment and choose vaccination center
After the OTP authentication, users will see details of their first two doses alongside the "Precaution Dose" tab.
The number of days left for the booster and the due date will also be displayed.
The users must then click on the "Schedule" button to book slots.
On the next page, they can search for vaccination centers using their PIN code or selecting their district/state.
Confirmation
Confirmation will be received on registered mobile number
Once the user selects a vaccination center and time slot, their appointment would get confirmed and the same will be shown on the screen.
They will also receive a confirmation message on their registered mobile number along with another OTP to be shown at the vaccination center.
Notably, precautionary doses will be the same as the vaccine they received for the first two doses.
Vaccination
India's COVID-19 vaccination campaign
So far, around 96% of India's population aged over 15 years has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while approximately 83% in the same age group received both doses since January 16, 2021—when the country launched its COVID-19 vaccination program.
India first began administering precautionary doses in January 2022 amid the threat of subsequent waves posed by the Omicron variant.
Immunization drive
Boosters for healthcare workers, senior citizens announced 3 months ago
The Centre's Friday decision also means that the drive to administer precautionary doses to all adults from Sunday (April 10) will begin exactly three months after the government first commenced providing booster shots in India.
To recall, the Centre began administering the same to healthcare and frontline workers and senior citizens with comorbidities back on January 10.
Current situation
About the COVID-19 situation in India
India on Friday reported over 1,100 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of nearly 100 cases from the day before.
The country's active caseload currently stands at 11,492, which accounts for 0.03% of the total cases so far.
In the past 24 hours, a total of 1,109 new cases and 43 fatalities were reported.
Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 recovery rate stood at 98.76%.