The central government may opt for prescribing the same Covid-19 vaccine — that was given for the first and second dose — as the precautionary dose due to lack of data on vaccine mixing in India, a top bureaucrat has said.
While there is not much evidence right now in India that mixing of Covid-19 vaccines, especially Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin works, a separate deliberation is going on regarding booster doses for the adult population which is different from the precautionary dose, the official told News18.com.
However, the official insisted that it is still under deliberation and the final decision will be taken “anytime soon”.
“We need to keep this in mind that our Prime Minister has named the dose as ‘precautionary’ and not booster doses. The panels are still deliberating over boosters for other population,” said the government official from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
“Precautionary dose is the third dose or additional dose which doctors and medical practitioners can prescribe to people who are frail. In most likelihood, it is going to be the same vaccine. The discussions are still on, but no final call has been taken yet.”
He explained that the idea behind calling it ‘precautionary’ is that the target population is elderly and their bodies might not have generated the immune response with two doses as much as young or healthy bodies might have.
“People with comorbidities such as HIV or cancer won’t respond very well to two doses, hence the third dose is a matter of precaution because a resurgence of a new variant has been announced.”
The official assured that this is not exactly the “final call” on boosters and the matter remains pending with the apex panel, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India (NTAGI).
In a surprise address on Christmas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would start giving the third “precautionary dose” to healthcare and frontline workers and those above 60 with comorbidities from January 10. He also announced vaccination for children aged 15-18 from January 3.
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