India plans booster dose for all above 18 to ease international travel difficulties

India is planning to allow booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine for all those above the age of 18 given a surge in infections in parts of the world and ease difficulties faced during international travel, sources said today.

At present, healthcare and frontline workers and those aged above 60 years are being given "precaution" (booster) doses.

All people aged above 60 have been made eligible for the booster dose after the Indian Health Ministry recently removed the comorbidity clause, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The prioritization and sequencing of the dose would be based on the completion of nine months to 39 weeks from the date of administration of the second dose.

India on January 10, began administering booster doses to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16, last year with the healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase.