Indian citizens and students travelling overseas can now take the precautionary dose of COVID vaccine as required by the guidelines of the destination country, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet on Thursday. He added that this new facility would be available soon on the CoWIN portal.
The relaxation comes based on the recommendations by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI). The move will now allow those wanting to get the precautionary dose, after the second dose, to cut the stipulated nine-month waiting period in India.
Multiple representations
The Ministry has been getting multiple representations seeking the booster dose of the vaccine for those who have to travel abroad for employment, business commitments, admission to foreign educational institutes, participating in sports events, and bilateral and multilateral meetings as part of India’s official delegation.
“The issue was discussed at a meeting of NTAGI last week after which it recommended that those who need to travel overseas can take the booster shot, before the stipulated nine-month waiting period, as per the booster guidelines of the country they are travelling to,” a source had said.
India began administering precautionary doses of COVID vaccines to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10 this year. The comorbidity clause was removed in March, making all people aged above 60 eligible for the booster dose.
On April 10, India began administering precautionary doses to all aged above 18 at private vaccination centres. Both Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin are available for ₹225 per dose, down from ₹600 and ₹1,200 respectively. Private vaccination centres can charge up to ₹150 per dose as service charge over and above the cost of the vaccine.
