COVID Vaccine: Policy On Booster & Additional Dose To Be Made Public In 2 Weeks

New Delhi: A comprehensive policy on additional and booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be made public in the next two weeks by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) of India.

“The policy will deal with who will require the vaccine, when and how. This needs to be seen in the context that a new variant is coming and with time only we will get to know more information about it. Therefore relevance and effectiveness of the current vaccines will also become apparent with time only,” ANI quoted NTAGI chairman Dr NK Arora as saying on Monday.

What is the difference between a booster dose and an additional shot?

“A booster dose is given in a predefined period after two primary doses, whereas an additional dose is given to only those people who have problems with their immune function even after the primary doses. If a person’s immune function is not appropriately built, you give them an additional dose. So these are two different things,” Arora explained.

He informed that a comprehensive plan for immunising 44 crore children below the age of 18 years will also be made public soon, reiterating that children with comorbidities will be prioritised and vaccinated first.

There have been debates galore on the necessity of a booster dose, with medical experts on government panel saying that the priority is to vaccinate the entire eligible population of the country.

However, several experts have been advocating a booster dose policy, just like countries like the US, Germany, the UK, Canada and France have adopted.

Also Read: COVID Vaccine Booster: Pfizer, Moderna Shots Cleared For All US Adults

Now that the more transmissible Omicron variant has rocked the world, the clamour for booster is likely to grow stronger in India.