India extends COVID-19 booster shots to all adults
ABC News
India has begun offering booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults but is limiting free shots at government centers to front-line workers and people over age 60
NEW DELHI -- India began offering booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults on Sunday but limited free shots at government centers to front-line workers and people over age 60.
The doses, which India is calling a “precautionary” shot instead of a booster, are available to people nine months after they receive their second jab, the Health Ministry said in a statement Friday. Those outside the two priority categories will need to pay for the shots at privately run facilities, the ministry said.
Unlike other countries, where many people receive a different vaccine as a booster, most Indians have received the same type — in most cases the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by India’s Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine maker. It accounts for nearly 90% of all doses that have been administered in India, even though emergency approvals have been given for eight vaccines.
On Saturday, the Serum Institute of India said it has cut the price of its AstraZeneca vaccine from $7.90 a dose to $2.96 for private hospitals.
