Amid reports of the presence of XE variant in India, it’s time to seriously go for booster shots
Has the COVID XE variant — the latest to be discovered — entered India? We cannot really be sure. The Mumbai authorities say the first patient in the country is a fully vaccinated, 50-year-old costume designer who returned from South Africa recently. The Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation said she was the only one to test positive for the XE variant among 230 samples sent for COVID genome sequencing. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), however, denied that the genomic constitution of this variant correlates with the genomic picture of the XE variant. Scientists have educated estimates that it could be a bit more transmissible than Omicron and possibly not as infectious as Delta. Given that India has fully emerged out of the shadow of COVID restrictions and all activities, including international travel, are back to normal, the possibility of the new variant entering India cannot be ruled out. It need not raise a scare because quite a substantial segment of the population is now fully vaccinated, even children are getting the doses and those above 60, irrespective of co-morbidities, are allowed a booster. Theoretically, both vaccinations and previous infections increase the immunity enough to withstand any fresh infection. As a country, we have to learn to live with COVID and also with the fact that new variants may routinely test our immunity. This means we need a post-COVID, long-term national policy or protocol on the use of vaccines as regular boosters.
It is time to think about a booster for all above 12. Age and comorbidities cannot be conditions in the case of adults. It is well established that the immunity levels reduce up to half six months after the second vaccine dose. A process should be in place for people to regularly check their immunity levels and, if needed, go in for boosters. The issue is no longer about new variants; they will keep surfacing. The issue is whether your immunity is strong enough to combat them. The Indian scientists do have a valid point about the advanced countries going in for the fourth or even the fifth booster. It is important to note that the booster is a vaccine, not a medicine, and should be treated that way. These protocols can come into effect immediately. We need not wait for the entire population to be fully vaccinated. This is a cycle, not a one-time affair. Secondly, the Government has to decide on reducing the gap between the first and second doses of the Covishield vaccine. It was increased to 12-16 weeks last May from six-eight weeks. There are still many people who need to get vaccinated and they should not get caught in a fresh COVID wave because of the extended dose gap. Thirdly, booster doses must be available to immuno-compromised people of any age, especially patients suffering from cancer or those who have undergone organ transplants or are on extended hospitalisation.