In a welcoming news to those eligible against booster doses, all adults will now be administered at all government vaccination centres for free.
Under a 75-day special drive, the I&B minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday, July 13, announced that people in the 18-59 age group will get free precaution doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at government vaccination centres which is likely to begin from July 15.
The drive, aimed at boosting the uptake of precaution doses, will be held as part of the government's Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence.
Moreover, owing to a drop in the coronavirus cases and fading fear of the virus, the data revealed showed that the beneficiaries taking booster dose have also reduced. Therefore, this initiative will also encourage the adults to take precautionary dose and boost the vaccination drive.
According to reports, so far, less than 1 per cent of the target population of 77 crore in the 18-59 age group have been administered the precaution dose. However, around 26 per cent of the estimated 16 crore eligible population aged 60 and above as well as healthcare and frontline workers have received the booster dose, an official source said.
Besides, the Union Health Ministry last week reduced the gap between the second and precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine for all beneficiaries from nine to six months following a recommendation from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI).
In addition, to accelerate the pace of vaccination and encourage booster shots, the government initiated the second round of the 'Har Ghar Dastak campaign 2.0' across states and UTs on June 1. The two-month programme is currently underway.
According to government data, 96 per cent of India's population has been administered the first dose of vaccine while 87 per cent of the people have taken both doses.
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