India reduces gap between second dose of COVID-19 and booster dose to 6 months

NEW DELHI, July 7 (Xinhua) -- India's health ministry has reduced the gap between the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine and the third booster dose from nine months to six months, officials said Thursday.

The decision was taken on the recommendation of the Standard Technical Sub Committee of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization.

Health officials said the move is expected to expand coverage of the booster doses in the country.

India began offering booster doses to healthcare and frontline workers, and those about 60 years with comorbidities in January. The coverage was extended to all adults from April 10.

So far India has administered over 48 million booster doses, which is about 5 percent of the eligible population.

According to the federal health ministry, the country has administered over 1.98 billion doses since the COVID-19 vaccination drive began in January 2021.

India has reported around 43.5 million COVID-19 cases, second only to the United States, with the related death toll rising to 525,305.

At present India is reporting around 18,000 cases on daily basis, and the federal government has asked states to step up surveillance.