Dr Tamorish Kole, President of Asian Society for Emergency Medicine (ASEM), said, “When we are talking about the third dose, we must prioritise with the low level of immunity, immune-compromised such as cancer patients and patients who received an organ transplant and give them the booster dose first. So, I will urge the government to prioritise the frontline workers to give the third dose.”
New Delhi:
Many experts have recommended booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in India, especially for those with comorbidities or healthcare workers as they have already received both doses.
But according to the government sources, the Centre is right now focusing on maximum coverage of full vaccination under the ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ program. Dr Samiran Panda who is the head of the Epidemiology and Infectious diseases division at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that right now the scientific evidence from within the country does not underline the need for a booster dose.
Speaking to ANI, Dr Panda said, “The Ministry of Health gets guided by scientific evidence and also advised by NTAGI. These are advisory bodies and considered by the Ministry and the respective departments to develop a policy. So, policy formulation and decisions are based on scientific evidence. Right now the scientific evidence from within the country does not underline the need for a booster dose. Public health considerations are on the priority now.”
“If you ask me, the need of the hour is to attain 80 per cent coverage or more among the individuals with 2 doses of vaccine. Reaching out to over 80 per cent of eligible individuals is public health priority now,” he said.
He also stressed focusing on the vaccination program rather than on the booster dose. “Discussing the booster dose doesn’t make sense because there are people who are you know, in hesitation to come forward for the second day thinking that So, if we discuss the booster to return to we are actually leaving the programme halfway,” he added.
Dr Tamorish Kole, President of Asian Society for Emergency Medicine (ASEM), said, “When we are talking about the third dose, we must prioritise with the low level of immunity, immune-compromised such as cancer patients and patients who received an organ transplant and give them the booster dose first. So, I will urge the government to prioritise the frontline workers to give the third dose.”
India is not considering authorising booster COVID-19 doses yet as many in the country have been naturally infected and the government believes two doses of a vaccine offers sufficient protection for now, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
As vaccine supplies have increased, some doctors and public health experts in India have urged the government to start a booster programme for the most vulnerable like many Western nations have done.
But authorities will instead concentrate on having most of India’s 944 million adults complete a two-dose vaccination by January before shifting their focus to a big expansion in exports, said the sources who are involved in vaccine-policy discussions.
So far, 81% of India’s adults have received at least one dose while 43% have had two doses. Vaccination for people under 18 has not yet begun.
“The priority is to fully immunise the adult population,” said one of the sources. The sources declined to be named as the matter was still being discussed by policy makers.
“A big majority has been naturally infected, and for them two doses are enough. That’s why we are seeing that even after recent festivals, cases are not rising.” The source said that once most adults have had two vaccine doses, the government could make boosters optional.
The health ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
India reported the most COVID-19 case and death figures in the world in April and May and government surveys have shown that nearly 70% of Indians were naturally infected by July. The country has so far logged 34.5 million infections – the most after the United States – with more than 465,000 deaths.
Although India celebrated two of its biggest festivals, Diwali and Durga Puja in October and November, infections have fallen to multi-month lows.
Many Western countries are expanding their booster programmes, even for people without compromised immunity – a policy which the World Health Organization has heavily criticised.
Indian vaccine companies like the Serum Institute of India, which produces licensed versions of the AstraZeneca and Novavax shots, expect the government to allow boosters some time early next year.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories says it is in talks with India’s drug regulator to sell Russia’s Sputnik Light as a booster dose.
Indian states had more than 216 million vaccine doses in stock as of early Monday.
India’s vaccine output has more than tripled since April to around 300 million doses a month.