New Delhi: Precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccines are available to all aged above 18 years at private vaccination centres from today.


As per the health ministry's announcement, those above the age of 18 who have completed nine months after the administration of the second dose are eligible for the precaution dose.


Vaccine Price


Vaccine majors Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech on Saturday announced that they have decided to cut prices of the precaution dose of their respective COVID-19 vaccines to Rs 225 per shot for private hospitals after discussion with the government.


SII had previously stated that the Covishield vaccine will be priced at Rs 600 per shot for eligible individuals while the price of COVAXIN was revised from Rs 1,200 to Rs 225 per dose, for private hospitals.


Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in a release on Saturday, informed that private vaccination centres can charge up to a maximum of Rs 150 as a service charge for vaccination over & above the cost of the vaccine.


SII and Bharat Biotech have been major suppliers of COVID-19 vaccines to the government so far.


Notably, healthcare workers, frontline workers, and citizens aged 60 years or more can continue to receive precaution dose vaccination at any vaccination centre, including free of charge vaccination at government vaccination centers.


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Eligibility 


As previously mentioned, those above the age of 18 who have completed nine months after the administration of the second dose are eligible for the precaution dose.


The precaution dose will be of the same vaccine as the first and the second dose.


How to Book A Slot


The options of both ‘Online appointment’ and ‘Walk-in’ registration and vaccination are available at Private CVCs.


No fresh registrations are required for precaution dose as all due beneficiaries are already registered on CoWIN.


Beneficiaries can check their due date for precaution dose by signing into their existing CoWIN account with their mobile number.


If the nine-month threshold has passed, beneficiaries can book their appointment by searching for a slot by using their PIN code or going for a district-wise search.






185.70 Crore COVID Vaccines Administered So Far


The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 185.70 crore (1,85,70,71,655) with 14,38,792 doses administered on Saturday.


The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on March 1, 2021, for people above the age of 60 years and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.


India launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1 last year. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years of age to be inoculated against the viral disease from May 1 last year.


The next phase of vaccination commenced on January 3 for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.


India began administering precaution doses of vaccines to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10.


The country began inoculating children aged 12-14 on March 16.