COVID-19 booster dose will be the same vaccine as has been given previously: Centre

New Delhi: Giving clarity on booster shots for Covid-19, the Centre noted that the precautionary dose of Covid vaccine for healthcare and frontline workers as well as those above 60 years with comorbidities will be same as the first two doses of the vaccine. "Precautionary COVID-19 vaccine dose will be the same vaccine as has been given previously. Those who've received Covaxin will receive Covaxin, those who've received primary two doses of Covishield will receive Covishield," said Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, NITI Aayog.

Though Dr Paul had earlier said that there was no problem in principle to mix and match, it seems that the Indian government has not taken any decision on mix and match of vaccines in India yet. 

The Centre on Wednesday also said the upsurge of COVID-19 cases is happening in cities and the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain. The government, however, said there is no need to panic and one must be alert, disciplined and prepared, adding that the country will face this phase of the pandemic as well.

"Upsurge of infections is happening in cities. Omicron is the predominant circulating strain and mass gatherings need to be avoided to reduce the speed of the spread of infection. There has been a surge in Covid cases globally whereas 25.2 lakh cases were recorded globally on January 4, the highest ever since the onset of the pandemic," officials said.

"India reported over 6.3 times rise in Covid cases in the last eight days. There has been a sharp rise in case positivity from 0.79 per cent on December 29 to 5.03 per cent on January 5," they said.

They said six states/UTs now have over 10,000 active Covid cases. It further stated that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat are emerging as states of concern due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.

"A total of 28 districts are reporting over 10 per cent weekly Covid positivity, while 43 districts are reporting weekly positivity between 5-10 per cent," the officials said.

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The Centre added that 1.06 crore or 14.3 per cent of India's adolescents aged 15-18 years have been administered the first dose of Covid vaccine. An estimated 7,40,57,000 adolescents in the age group 15-18 years are there in the country and are eligible for vaccination, it said. It added that relatively less hospitalisation has been observed in countries reporting the surge in Omicron cases.

(With Agency inputs)

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