In a latest development, the Delhi government has made available a precaution or booster dose free of cost for people in the age group of 18-59 years in government hospitals. Till now, precautionary doses were available in private hospitals at the cost of 225.
This decision of the Delhi government has come at a time when there is a spurt in the cases of Kovid-19 in Delhi. The city has 2,970 active COVID cases with a positivity rate of 4.47%
“In order to extend the benefit of Precautionary Dose to all eligible beneficiaries in Delhi, Precautionary Dose will be available free of cost for the age group of 18-59 years at all Government COVID Vaccination Centers (CVCs) from 21st April 2022,” read Dr. Monica Rana, The order issued by the Director, Directorate of Family Welfare, Government of Delhi was reviewed by Mint.
“All DMs, CDMOs and DIOs are requested to issue necessary instructions in this regard to all concerned so that all eligible beneficiaries can now avail the precautionary doses at Government COVID Vaccination Centers,” the order said.
“All persons above the age of 18 years up to 59 years will now be eligible for the precautionary dosage in the government CVC apart from HCW, FLW and elderly population above 60 years of age. However, the provision of paid precautionary doses will be available in private CVCs.
The precaution or booster dose of the vaccine further boosts the body’s immunity by activating the memory cells to produce more antibodies against COVID.
The Delhi government has made necessary changes in the Co-WIN, in which both online appointment and walk-in appointment will be available.
For the precautionary dose, the same vaccine that was used for the previous dose will be used for the precautionary dose. Eligibility for a precautionary dose would be after the completion of 9 months (39 weeks) from the date of administration of the second dose.
The State Government has stated that it is not necessary to register afresh any citizen for the administration of the precautionary dose. However, in order to follow the vaccination protocol specified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the vaccinator should trace the existing vaccination record of the beneficiary, verify the documents and on successful verification administer the dose and record the vaccination.
“Vaccination teams are responsible for recording vaccination details correctly and care should be taken to avoid any error in recording. The verifier should confirm from the citizen whether the information available in the CoWIN system is correct or not and update the information if necessary,” it read.
In the last 24 hours, the city has recorded around 965 Covid cases and one death out of 20,480 tests conducted to detect the virus.