Even as many developed and developing nations have started giving the booster doses to their citizens, India feels that there is no scientific evidence so far to support the need for a booster vaccine dose against Covid-19.
ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said on Monday that there was no scientific data to support that second dose is needed and underlined that its focus is on the completion of second dose for the country’s adult population
According to sources, the booster dose issue is likely to be discussed in the next meeting of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India (NTAGI).
"Administering the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all adult population and ensuring that not only India but the entire world gets vaccinated is the priority of the government for now. "Moreover, there is no scientific evidence so far to support the need for a booster vaccine dose against COVID-19," Bhargava said.
On the probability of administering a booster dose, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently said that adequate stocks are available and the aim is to complete the vaccination of the target population with two doses.
After that, a decision on booster dose would be taken based on expert recommendation, he had said.
"The government cannot take a direct decision in such a matter. When the Indian Council of Medical Research and expert team will say that a booster dose should be given, we will consider it then," he had said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always depended on expert opinion, be it vaccine research, manufacturing or approval.
According to officials, around 82 per cent of the eligible population in India have received the first dose of the vaccine while around 43 per cent have been fully inoculated. Countries like the US, Canada are planning booster shots for those people who are severely or moderately immunocompromised. A similar recommendation was made by the European Union’s (EU) drug regulator last month.
But while some countries in the EU, such as Austria, Germany and Italy among others are offering booster doses to all adults, some including Sweden and Spain have targeted booster doses at certain population groups such as the elderly and those that are immunocompromised.
Other countries administering booster doses include Israel, the UK, South Korea, Turkey and Brazil.