Centre mulls making all adults eligible for Covid-19 booster dose

With 97 per cent of the Indian adult population receiving a single shot and 84 per cent fully vaccinated, the Union Health Ministry is considering allowing booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines for all adults amid a new surge in Covid cases in parts of Asia and Europe, even though there is no official word yet.

Instead, the ministry officials categorically pointed out that no decision was made so far in this regard. “No decision has been taken yet by the Union Ministry of Health on considering lowering the eligible age limit to receive the precaution dose,” said an official.

The clarification comes in the wake of reports that such a proposal is under review. "The government is considering allowing booster doses of Covid vaccine to all those above 18 years in view of a surge in infections in parts of the world and ease difficulties faced during international travel," news agency PTI reported quoting an unnamed source.

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Currently, healthcare and front line workers and those aged above 60 years are being administered precaution doses. All people aged above 60 have been made eligible for the precautionary third dose of the Covid vaccine.

Public health experts, on the basis of scientific evidence, are in favour of a third shot to boost immunity.

"Based on the data from the UK, the vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease (all vaccine brands combine) against BA.1 and BA.2 variants drop from around 69-77 per cent in the first four weeks (after the vaccination) to 10 per cent against B.1 and 18 per cent against BA.2 after 25 weeks. Assuming symptomatic diseases as a proxy for complications seen during post-Covid infection, it is reasonable to expand boosters to all the eligible age groups,” Giridhar Babu, an epidemiologist at the Public Health Foundation of India told DH.

The sixth phase of India’s Covid-19 vaccination programme began on March 16 when the campaign was expanded to include children in the age group of 12 -14 years. In less than a week’s time, nearly 32 lakh children received the first dose.

More than 181 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered so far.

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