People who want to travel abroad can shorten the nine-month gap between the second dose and the booster dose of the covid-19 vaccine, according to the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI). A group of experts recommended that people take the booster dose whenever the country they visit requires it. The Union Ministry of Health has not yet made an official announcement on the recommendation.
People who go abroad for work
The decision to reduce the nine-month gap between the second dose and the booster dose was made by NTAGI after considering people who have to travel out of India for work or business.
NTAGI Scheduled to meet
Data for immunization of children between 5-12 years of age for covid-19 and the decision on vaccine protocols are the reasons why NTAGI is expected to meet this week. Previous meetings were unable to reach any conclusions as NTAGI experts were unsure of the available pediatric data. In other countries, children over the age of 2 have already been vaccinated. They have yet to look into the effect it could have on children even after the green drug regulator signals.
The drug regulator has approved Cadila’s ZyCoV-D for children over 12, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for 6 to 12 year olds and Biological E.’s Corbevax for 5 to 11 year olds.
