India to give free Covid booster doses to adults for 75 days
Until now, only frontline workers, health workers and people above 60 years were eligible for free booster doses. Others had to pay for it
India has announced free booster Covid vaccine doses for all adults for 75 days starting this week.
A federal minister said the time period was to mark the 75th anniversary of the country's independence on 15 August, reports BBC.
Until now, only frontline workers, health workers and people above 60 years were eligible for free booster doses. Others had to pay for it.
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The move comes days after India cut the gap between the second and third doses of the vaccine to six months from nine.
The announcement is expected to expand coverage of the booster dose - or precaution dose as India calls it - in the country.
The Hindustan Times newspaper reported on Thursday that 92% of Indians who were eligible for a booster dose haven't taken it yet.
India has administered 50 million booster doses so far, only around 5% of the eligible population.
The country began the booster dose programme in January for healthcare and frontline workers, and those above 60 years with comorbidities.
It later expanded the drive to all adults. A vaccine programme for 15- to 18-year-olds began in January, and for 12- to -14-year-olds in March.
The country has administered over 1.99 billion doses since its vaccination drive began in January 2021.
So far, India has reported around 43.5 million Covid cases, second only to the US, and around 525,000 deaths - behind the US and Brazil.
The country is currently reporting cases around the 16,000-mark every day - states such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have seen a jump in daily active cases over the past few weeks. The federal government has asked states to step up surveillance for the virus, including random screening of passengers travelling from abroad.
