Elderly population eligible for Covid-19 booster shots, also known as ‘precautionary doses’, would require a medical certificate to take the dose, Dr RS Sharma, chief executive officer at National Health Authority who also heads the functioning of CoWIN platform, told News18.com.
In a surprise address on Christmas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would start giving the third “precautionary dose” to healthcare and frontline workers and those above 60 with comorbidities from January 10. He also announced vaccination for children aged 15-18 from January 3.
“Eligible elderly would require a medical certificate to prove their comorbidity. We will follow the same list of comorbidities that was released during the launch of vaccination drive for people between 45 to 59 years of age,” Dr Sharma told News18.com. “The process remains the same as it was earlier but for another age-group.”
Sharma is credited with making CoWIN, the software which is known as the backbone of India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive.
The government will be allowing booster doses on the basis of specified 20 comorbidities, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stem cell transplant, kidney disease or on dialysis, cirrhosis, cancer, sickle cell disease, and current prolonged use of steroids or immunosuppressant drugs.
The certificate of comorbidity, signed by any registered medical practitioner, can either be uploaded on Co-WIN 2.0 by the beneficiary while self-registering or a hard copy can be carried by the beneficiary to the vaccination centres.
Sharma told News18.com that the process of registration remains simple for children. “Anyone from the eligible age group can register on Co-WIN and schedule their shots.”
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