Telangana Health Minister T Harish Rao on Tuesday has written to the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya seeking to reduce the gap for administering the 'precaution dose' from existing nine months to six months. In the letter, he has also urged to further reduce gap between these vaccine doses to three months for health care workers.
"Based on the experience of booster dose policies of countries like USA and UK", the Telangana Health Minister has requested Mandaviya to consider the following:
1. Decreasing the interval between second dose and precaution dose from 9 months to 6 months.
2. Examine the feasibility of further decreasing the interval between second dose and precaution dose to 3 months for all health care workers.
3. Including of all citizens of above 60 years of age for the precaution dose irrespective of comorbidities.
4. To consider booster dose for all citizens above 18 years of age.
"This will enable us to protect the population for the severe morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19 infection," wrote T Harish Rao.
Meanwhile, Mandaviya on Tuesday said over 50 lakh healthcare and frontline workers and citizens aged 60 years or above have received 'precaution dose' since January 10.
Taking to Twitter, the Union minister wrote "Another Day, Another Milestone over 50 lakh healthcare and frontline workers and citizens aged 60 years or above have received Precaution Dose, since 10th January." "I request all those who are eligible to get their Precaution Dose at the earliest," he said in a tweet.
In his address to the nation on December 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the precautionary doses of vaccine will be started for healthcare, frontline workers and citizens above 60 years with co-morbidities starting January 10, 2022.
