85,000 took Covid precaution dose in four days, experts urge to expand coverage

Available scientific data suggest immunity reduces with time, and those with comorbidities in any age group are vulnerable

Only a little over 85,000 individuals in the age group of 18-59 years have taken the precautionary Covid-19 vaccine dose in the first four days after the Union government expanded the vaccination programme to allow precautionary shots for all adults at private centres.

Since April 10, only 18,406 people in the age bracket of 18-44 years and 66,748 people in the age group of 45-59 years have taken the third shot even though the experts urge the vaccinated population to come forward for the booster dose since the level of antibody in the body wanes after a few months.

“Since the transmission is at an all time low, the risk perception could be responsible for such a low demand for the booster doses,” Oommen John, a senior public health researcher at the George Institute for Global Health told DH.

Available scientific data suggest immunity reduces with time, and especially those with comorbidities in any age group are vulnerable to more severe disease.

Read | 'Low uptake of booster Covid jabs due to complacency'

“The importance of booster dose should be conveyed to people through innovative messages. As the awareness improves, people will realize that the booster protects against severe illness and coverage enhances. It is imprudent to wait for another wave to change the public perception on boosters,” said R Giridhara Babu, an epidemiologist at the Public Health Foundation of India, Bengaluru.

Unlike the paid jab at private vaccination centres, the government-funded programme to administer the precautionary dose for the 60 plus population, healthcare workers and frontline workers is on course with more than 1.32 crore senior citizens receiving the third Covid shot so far.

“I think it is more due to a lack of demand than the price itself. People in that age group, as far as I know, are not necessarily needing a booster given that they have had two doses and possible infection,” said health economist Rijo John, an adjunct professor at Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kochi, who is tracking the pandemic since the past two years.

Nearly 66 crore adults in the age group of 18-59 years are fully vaccinated whereas over 75 crore received a single dose.

A section of the experts pointed out that the nine month gap might also be a factor for fewer people turning up for the precautionary jab.

"The gap between the second and the precaution dose should have been around six months. The antibody levels start reducing after four-five months and it is at the minimum after nine months of either the last dose or natural infection. We don’t have to wait for the antibody levels to come to a minimum, and precaution dose could have been given little earlier than that," said Ravi Shekhar Jha, additional director of pulmonology at the Fortis Hospital.

Experts also observed general lack of awareness in both rural and urban areas about the third dose resulting in low uptake.

Meanwhile, 33% of children between 12-14 years received their first shot (of Corbevax) in the last one month and 54% of the adolescents in the 15-18 age bracket are now fully vaccinated with two doses of Covaxin.

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