Booster dose can be open to all adults

The government plans to open Covid-19 booster doses for all adults, marking a dramatic scale-up in the vaccination roll-out that would make tens of millions more eligible for the cautious jabs, government officials said aware of the development .

At present, only healthcare professionals, frontline workers and people over 60 are eligible to receive the cautious dose.

The expansion in the roll-out means that everyone who is 18 years or older is eligible.

To date, 21.7 million people have received their booster doses. Under the national vaccination drive, India has so far administered more than 1.81 billion doses.

“Discussions are open to any adult under consideration of precautionary measures or booster doses. However, the final decision is yet to be made,” said a senior government official, asking for anonymity.

Inquiries, which were sent to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health on Monday, remained unanswered at press time.

On March 3, the Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Health authorized boosters for anyone over 60 years of age.

Previously, only elderly people with comorbidities were allowed to take the booster dose.

This comes when the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization recommended reducing the gap between the first and second doses of Covishield vaccination to 8-16 weeks from 12-16 weeks. From March 16, the vaccination for children aged 12-14 was opened.

Experts said booster doses are a necessity.

“Everyone over the age of 15 should be eligible for a booster dose. There are some international studies that show that even if one is fully vaccinated, after 5-6 months, the antibodies tend to decrease. Booster doses are intended for more prevention “To reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. A booster dose provides 95% protection against infections and hospitalization, and 98% protection against death,” said Dr. Sanjeev Bagai, President of Nephron Clinics.

According to the Ministry of Health, 4.35 million health workers, 6.66 million frontline workers, and 10 million elderly boosters received doses.

The central government has provided approximately 1.83 billion vaccine doses to states and union territories, while more than 172 million have not been used and are still available with them.

India has so far reported more than 43 million covid cases and 517,000 deaths. Currently, the country is witnessing a decline in new covid cases, with 1,549 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. The active number of cases has dropped to 25,000.