Bangladeshi citizens over the age of 50 will receive the COVID-19 booster dose, says Minister of Health and Family Welfare Zahid Maleque.

The age limit for the booster shot will be lowered by 10 years, he confirmed to the media at the Secretariat on Sunday.

“The age limit for the booster dose is currently 60 years of age,” he said. “But we have decided to administer the booster vaccine from age 50. The prime minister has approved the decision.”

Bangladesh began administering booster doses, a third shot of the COVID-19 vaccine aimed at shoring up immunity, on Dec 28 as the omicron variant of the coronavirus began spreading quickly throughout the world. Initially, the government was only giving doses to people over 60 and workers on the front lines of the pandemic.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services, the booster dose has been administered to 685,000 people across the country as of Sunday.