Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked its member nations to put on hold booster doses of Covid-19 till more countries catch up with vaccination, India may consider giving a third dose to vaccinated people who have low antibody levels.
“The move is being contemplated as over 20 per cent of the inoculated population has failed to develop antibodies against SARS-CoV2,” Director of the Bhubaneswar-based Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) Ajay Parida has indicated.
Around 23 per cent of the faculty members of a research unit here were found to be antibody negative during a recent study after two doses of the vaccine.
“Though the antibody level is 30,000 to 40,000 in some Covid-infected people, it is below 50 in a significant number of vaccinated individuals. If the antibody level is 60 to 100, then we can say the person is antibody positive,” he said to a news agency.
The ILS is a part of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genome Consortium (INSACOG), a network of 28 laboratories across the country equipped to sequence genomes of the coronavirus for emerging variants. Further, the antibody level is seen to come down after four to six months in many people, who have been vaccinated with two doses.
The booster dose is essential for people having low or negative antibodies despite full vaccination, Parida said. Stating that the efficacy of Covishield and Covaxin is about 70 per cent to 80 per cent, which means around 20 to 30 per cent of the vaccinated population may not develop antibodies, Parida said the clinical study is in its final stage for approval of a booster dose.
“Based on the outcome of the clinical trial, the ICMR may approve the booster dose. The trial is on whether the booster dose will be Covaxin for people vaccinated with Covishield and vice-versa or Sputnik V for people vaccinated with either Covaxin or Covishield. The study is expected to be over in a week,” he stated.
Dr Rahul Bhargava, Head of Hematology Department, Fortis Gurugram who has been vocal about the booster dose said that those who have issues in developing antibodies need to be protected from the virus which is taking shape now and then. They should be given an additional booster dose, he added.