Strengthening its efforts to curb the COVID pandemic, India will offer booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to all adults from 10th April 2022. However, the free third dose will be restricted to frontline workers and those over the age of 60 years who can get it at government centers. 

Those older than 18 who received a second dose nine months ago will be eligible for the “precautionary” dose, as per the health ministry. The health minister said while flagging the decision that this will be, “adding an extra layer of safety.” 

The booster program started in January, limited to frontline workers and the elderly. A total of 24 million booster doses have been given in the country.  The country has administered 1.85 billion vaccine doses among its population of 1.35 billion, 82% of which are Covishield doses. Other vaccines used in India are the indigenously developed Covaxin and Corbevax, and Russia’s Sputnik V. (India to widen COVID booster effort to all adults from Sunday | Reuters)