New Delhi, April 15 : The Delhi government on Friday said that it will soon provide free of cost precaution doses of Covid-19 vaccines in public hospitals. The announcement was made in a joint statement by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Health Minister Satyendra Jain, after reviewing the health infrastructure amid the uptick in daily infections of Covid-19. \”Precaution doses of the same vaccine will be given to the people who have revived the first and second doses of the vaccine and who have completed nine months of taking their second dose,\” the statement said. \”Prevention is better than cure. All those who have not yet taken the vaccine or have taken only the first dose, should be taken to their nearest health facility as soon as possible for complete vaccination,\” the statement added quoting Jain. The precaution dose programme for individuals aged between 18 and 59 years was rolled out in the country on April 10. However, it is currently available only at private vaccination centres. Those who have completed nine months after the second shot are eligible for the precautionary dose.The private centres are allowed to charge up to Rs 386 for a dose after the vaccine manufacturers of Covaxin and Covishield reduced the price to Rs 225 for a dose. The Union Government has allowed private centres service to charge up to Rs 150 over and above the cost of vaccines. Meanwhile, the state government has asked all hospitals to remain on alert, amid the increasing cases of Covid-19 in Delhi. The government has also planned to raise Covid-19 beds capacity up to 65,000 in the national capital. It also said that the home isolation system could also be activated, if the national capital witnesses a significant surge in cases.
