Companies in India's formal sector are urging their employees to opt for Covid-19 vaccine booster jabs, as soon as they are available amid concerns of a third wave due to the fast-spreading Omicron.
Executives of corporates, many of whom contracted the infection despite having taken booster shots abroad, said that boosters would help reduce mortality risk and also prevent severe illness.
"While vaccinations and boosters may not prevent Covid, they have certainly reduced the severity of the virus impact on health, and recovery is faster. We must conduct businesses with Covid protocols. It is not going to disappear so soon," the chairman of a large conglomerate told The Economic Times.
With debates and research over the need for booster shots raging across the world, many countries are opting for the same to safeguard health and economy, The Economic Times report stated.
More than concerns of severe illness, corporates are wary of service and operation disruptions.
"People eligible should get booster doses on priority," Alok Roy, chair, FICCI Health Services Committee & Chairman, Medica Group of Hospitals told the publication.
Roy said that the government should have already rolled out the booster shots last year as there are several suspected cases of Omicron already. "Though most cases are mild, still an employee or worker diagnosed with Covid will have to sit at home; that's a cause of concern for most corporations," Roy said.
N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, addressing employees, said, "Businesses and society must adapt to it by preparing as best we can for new outbreaks and variants. We are seeing this now with the spread of Omicron. India's brilliant vaccine programme has built a vast wall of protection, and infections, so far, seem to be mild."
With the levels of antibodies decreasing, it's the right time to get the booster as it will improve immunity, Naresh Trehan, Chairman, CII National Council on Healthcare told the publication.
"We have not seen any adverse effect of the booster as yet," Trehan, who is also the chairman of Medanta - The MediCity, said.
Trehan pointed to the approval of Covovax and an abundance of vaccine stock as a huge opportunity to start booster jabs for multiple groups.
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