Health Ministry issues guidelines for COVID vaccination of children & booster dose rollout

Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a COVID-19 vaccination drive for teenagers and booster dose for healthcare workers and those above 60 years of age and with comorbidities, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday has issued guidelines for vaccinations.

In a statement, the health ministry informed only "Covaxin" will be available for children in the age-group 15-18 years. The vaccination for them will begin on January 3, 2022.

The healthcare and frontline workers can take a precaution dose or booster dose after nine months of receiving the second dose.

"As a matter of abundant precaution, for those Health Care Workers (HCWs) & Front Line Workers (FLWs) who have received two doses, another dose of COVID-19 vaccine would be provided from 10th January 2022. The prioritization and sequencing of this precaution dose would be based on the completion of 9 months i.e. 39 weeks from the date of administration of 2nd dose," the government said.

Similarly, the nine-month gap is mandatory for taking booster doses for those above 6- years of age with comorbidities. "All citizens irrespective of their income status are entitled to free COVID-19 vaccination at Govt. Vaccination Centres. Those who have the ability to pay are encouraged to use Private Hospitals’ Vaccination Centres," Centre said.

The government also announced changes made in the CoWIN platform before the initiation of vaccination for teenagers and the booster dose. Healthcare workers and citizens aged 60 years or above can access the vaccination for booster dose through their existing CoWIN account.

CoWIN features for health care workers and senior citizens

• All HCWs, FLWs and citizens aged 60 years or above with comorbidities will be able to access the vaccination for precaution dose through their existing CoWIN account.
• Eligibility of such beneficiaries for the precaution dose will be based on the date of administration of 2nd dose as recorded in the CoWIN system.
• CoWIN system will send SMS to such beneficiaries for availing the precaution dose when the dose becomes due.
• Registration and appointment services can be accessed through both, the online and the onsite modes.
• The details of the administration of the precaution dose will be suitably reflected in the vaccination certificates.

CoWIN features for new beneficiaries aged 15-18 years

• All those aged 15 years or more will be able to register on CoWIN . In other words, all those whose birth year is 2007 or before, shall be eligible.
• Beneficiaries can self-register, online through an existing account on CoWIN  or can also register by creating a new account through a unique mobile number, this facility is available for all eligible citizens presently.
• Such beneficiaries can also be registered onsite by the verifier/vaccinator in facilitated registration mode.
• Appointments can be booked online or onsite (walk-in)
• For such beneficiaries, the option for vaccination would only be available for Covaxin as this is the only vaccine with EUL for the age-group 15-17.

Image: PTI/ANI