Vaccine platforms are needed to respond faster when the next virus or mutation emerges
India’s COVID task force chief VK Paul says we should have vaccine platforms that can quickly adapt to the changing nature of the COVID-19 variants. He cautions of the possibility of the Indian vaccines becoming ineffective in emerging situations in the future. In effect, he is saying that the efficacy of the vaccines can wane over time and if in that period the virus does not die out but mutates into new variants, then there is an urgent need to find new and better vaccines that can handle the emerging mutations. Till now, a lay person’s understanding is that India needs to vaccinate 70 per cent or more of the adult population so that herd immunity is achieved and the epidemic turns endemic; and then it is a matter of the people getting a vaccine jab maybe once a year, like we take the flu jab annually. The Omicron variant now tells us it is not all that simple. This variant may not be dangerous like Delta or Delta Plus, but it is transmissible at a much faster pace. Secondly, the variant emerges when the world simply cannot afford another lockdown that destroyed the economy. It means that schools will need to reopen and remain open, international travel and trade have to resume, and people cannot stop working in factories and offices. Therefore, what we are looking at is a way of boosting the immunity of schoolchildren, the ageing population with comorbidities, travellers and people who work in crowded places, like in the healthcare, police, religious, education, commerce and sales, transportation, manufacturing and hospitality sectors.
These sections of our population, while being the most productive, are also the most important sources of the virus and its transmission. Whether it is Covaxin or Covishield or a booster dose, can they handle the virus and its transmission effectively enough for economic activity to continue without taking a health toll on the people? Should our scientists look for new vaccine platforms to handle new mutants or tailor future vaccines and boosters to sustain the country’s endemicity? The question is, who will decide the priority? Scientists tell us that India achieved herd immunity this June when the country transitioned from the epidemic phase to endemic prevalence and that it has managed to retain that status till recently. The status can continue depending on how strictly the Government tests and traces to contain the spread of the virus. It also depends on the ability of the people to not violate the safety protocols. Otherwise, we will end up in a situation where the quantum of new and rising positive cases — of any variant — is one day more than the immunity-naïve population that could not break the herd immunity threshold. We are then staring at another wave. For the present, we have no option but to invest in vaccine platform development and manufacturing to respond faster when the next virus or mutation emerges in the future.