COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for 60+ to be given from Jan 10: PM

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that vaccination against COVID-19 for healthcare and frontline workers would be administered from January 10. The announcement comes amid rising Covid cases linked to the Omicron variant of the virus.

In an address to the nation, he said the precaution dose will also be available for citizens above 60 years of age and with comorbidities on the advice of their doctor from January 10 next year as well.

The precaution dose denotes a third dose of the vaccine for the fully vaccinated but Modi refrained from using the term "booster dose", as it is generally referred to.

Modi's address came on a day officials said the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted emergency use authorisation to indigenously-developed Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for children above 12 years with certain conditions.

It is the second vaccine to receive the regulator's nod for use among those below 18 years after Zydus Cadila's needle-free COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D.