What is a precaution dose? Is it different from a booster shot?

New Delhi, Dec 26: In a major announment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced vaccination for children between 15 to 18 years, an addition dose for healthcare workers.

What caught everyone's attention in the speech given by PM Modi was usage of the word 'precaution dose' not booster dose. The third covid vaccine dose is called booster shot world-wide.

This has been done in the light of the amount of time that the frontline workers and health care workers spend in the service of Covid patients.

What is 'precaution dose'?

For now, there is no exact definition for 'precaution dose'. But as per the advisories given by the technical team on Covid vaccination, the third dose of covid vaccine should be of a vaccine based on a platform different from that of the first two doses.

In India, the people who comes under precaution dose category are the one's who have got their two doses of vaccine a 5 to 6 months ago. Amid Omicron rise, there was an apprehension that their immunity may have waned in the interval.

So, the word "precaution dose," keeps the option open, that the next shot could be a new vaccine rather than just a third shot.

The decision of precaution dose will strengthen confidence of healthcare and frontline workers. The Prime Minister also announced that option of precaution dose will be available for senior citizens above 60 years of age with co-morbidities on the advice of their doctors from 10th January, 2022.

The Prime Minister said that the global experience of fighting the pandemic has told that following all guidelines is the biggest weapons in the fight against Corona. Second weapon is vaccination.

What is a booster shot?

A booster shot is a normal part of the exiting covid vaccination programme. It is just an extra dose of a vaccine after the original (or primary) dose is administered.

The third dose of vaccine, called the booster shot was recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals who received the two-dose series of either Pfizer or Moderna get a third dose of the vaccine 28 days after receiving their second dose.

With the original dose, the immune system will be able to produce antibodies against the virus and a booster shot is given to remind the body's immune system about the virus it needs to defend against. This third shot, given after a months interval improves or gives the immune system a boost.