The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said that those above the age of 60, with co-morbidities, will not be required to produce a certificate from their doctors for a ‘precautionary dose’. “Such persons are expected to obtain the advice of their doctor before deciding to avail of precaution dose…,” the Union Health Ministry added.Apart from this, the ministry also gave instructions for the vaccination of children aged 15 to 18. It said that appointments for precautionary doses can be booked online or onsite (walk-in). Services in the on-site mode will be available subject to the availability of vaccination slots.Earlier on Monday, the health ministry said that the gap between the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and the precaution dose will be 9 months. The nitty-gritty of the gaps for the vaccines currently being used in India’s inoculation program – Covishield and Covaxin – is being worked out, and a final decision over this will be taken soon, it said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a televised address to the nation on Saturday night, announced that vaccination against COVID-19 for children between 15-18 years will start from January 3, while “precaution dose” for healthcare and frontline workers would be administered from January 10.The decisions came amid rising Covid cases linked to the Omicron variant of the virus.
