Which vaccine will be given as precautionary dose? Here's the answer

New Delhi, Jan 5: The Centre on Wednesday announced that the precautionary Covid-19 vaccine dose will be the same vaccine as has been given earlier. If people are fully vaccinated with CoviShield, then they will be administered with Covishield as the third dose, Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, NITI Aayog said.

Speaking at a press conference, Paul said, "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."

There have been extensive deliberations on whether the precautionary (third) dose of Covid vaccine for healthcare and frontline workers and citizens above 60 years with comorbidities should be the same as the first two doses and the decision has been finally announced by the Centre.

The third shot called precaution dose, called booster shot in foreign countries, will be administered to healthcare and frontline workers from 10th January. This has been done in light of the amount of time that the frontline workers and health care workers spend in the service of Covid patients.

Eligibility for the precaution dose will be based on the date of administration of the second dose as recorded in the Co-WIN system, which will send an SMS for availing the precaution dose when it becomes due, the earlier guidelines stated.

According to Dr RS Sharma, chief of India's vaccination platform CoWIN, the required gap between the second and booster shot is 39 weeks. "If you are above 60 years of age and have taken both doses and the gap between the second dose and the day you are registering is more than 9 months (39 weeks) then you are eligible," Sharma said earlier.