Now, those travelling abroad can avail Covid booster three months after the second jab

NEW DELHI: Indian citizens can take a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine as soon as three months after second doses if they are set to fly abroad, the government announced on Thursday, reducing the gap for the so-called precaution doses to allow international travellers to meet conditions imposed by several countries.

The health ministry’s decision to relax the norms about the precaution dose for overseas travellers was based on recommendations by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).

“Indian citizens and students travelling overseas can now take the precaution dose as required by the guidelines of the destination country. This new facility will be available soon on the CoWIN portal,” Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet. The advisory panel last week had recommended that those who need to travel overseas can take the precaution dose of Covid vaccine as required by the country they are travelling to before the mandatory nine-month gap.

Currently, all those above 18 years who have completed nine months after the second dose are eligible for the precaution jab. The ministry received several representations seeking the precaution dose of Covid vaccine for those who have to travel abroad for employment, business commitments, admission to foreign educational institutes, participating in sports events, and bilateral and multilateral meetings as part of India’s official delegation. “The issue was discussed in a meeting of NTAGI last week after which it recommended that those who need to travel overseas can take the booster shot, before the stipulated nine-month waiting period”, a person familiar with the matter had said.

CURRENTLY, ALL ABOVE 18 YEARS WHO HAVE COMPLETED NINE MONTHS AFTER THE SECOND DOSE ARE ELIGIBLE FOR PRECAUTION JAB