This would mean that the first lot of recipients of the precautionary vaccine will be those who received their second shot by April this year. 

The first precautionary dose of the Covid vaccine will be given to those above 60 years of age who received their second dose of the vaccine nine months before registering for the third. The process of registration will be exactly the same, Dr RS Sharma, CoWIN platform Chief told ANI. 

This would mean that the first lot of recipients of the precautionary vaccine will be those who received their second shot by April this year. 

The decision to keep the interval between the second and third doses at nine months has been based on the findings of five scientific studies carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute.

The nine-month interval would mean the initial doses of the precautionary vaccine will be received by those who had got the second shots in the primary vaccination schedule by April 10 this year — that is, mainly the healthcare and frontline workers who were the first to be inoculated from January 16 onward.

On March 1, India also began vaccinating those older than 60 years, and 45-plus with specified co-morbid conditions. As of May 1,  1.11 crore people had received both doses, according to Health Ministry data.