Covid-19: India considers booster doses for eligible adults
At present only frontline workers and those over the age of 60 are now permitted to receive booster doses in India, whether for free in government facilities or for a fee in private hospitals.
The centre is contemplating to give booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to all eligible adults as the virus spread in some countries and some Indians find it difficult to travel overseas without a third dosage.
Only frontline workers and those over the age of 60 are now permitted to receive booster doses in India, whether for free in government facilities or for a fee in private hospitals.
The administration is discussing whether to supply free boosters to other groups, according to one of the individuals, both of whom requested anonymity because the government has yet to make a decision.
A spokesperson for the health ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Lawmakers in parliament have urged for boosters to be made available to all adults as soon as possible.
The health ministry advised Indian states this week to increase surveillance for the disease, citing a recurrence in various parts of Asia and Europe. Cases have recently increased in countries such as China and Italy.
Infections in India, on the other hand, have dropped to their lowest level in more than a year, with 1,549 new cases reported in the last 24 hours and 31 deaths.
India's total of infections during the pandemic currently stands at more than 43 million, with 516,510 deaths, after being devastated last year by a wave of Delta infections that caused mortuaries to run out of room and people to die in parking lots.
Moreover, 20 million of the 1.81 billion vaccine doses supplied to the world's 1.4 billion people are boosters.
Some Indians have claimed on Twitter that organisers of some international events have limited admittance to individuals who have received booster doses. Vaccination is not considered complete in countries such as Israel in the absence of booster doses.