Paid booster for all adults to become available at Indian pvt centres

Amid growing concerns over the new Covid XE variant, India on Friday decided to extend paid booster facility to all adults (18 years and above) at private vaccination centres from April 10. The administration of booster doses through private centres would begin from Sunday and the registration will open at CoWIN portal, Trend reports citing The Tribune.

All adults who have completed nine months after the second dose would be eligible for the booster, the Health Ministry said. The facility would be available at all private vaccination centres.

The development came as Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan warned Haryana, Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra and Mizoram about the recent surge in cases despite the sustained and declining national trends.

Haryana, the ministry said, had reported a rise in weekly cases from 367 in the week ending April 1 to 416 in the week ending April 8, accounting for 5.70 per cent of India’s new cases. The state had also seen a rise in positivity in the last week from 0.51 to 1.06 per cent.

The ministry also flagged the rise in cases in Delhi from 724 (week ending April 1) to 826 (April 8). The maximum rise in weekly cases has been reported by Kerala with 2,321 cases reported in the week ending April 8, accounting for 31.8 per cent of India's new infections. Kerala's weekly positivity rose from 13.45 to 15.33 per cent.

Meanwhile, a new study by the National Institute of Virology, Pune, has also made a strong case for booster shot to “ensure better protection”.