Do We Need Booster Shots Of COVID-19 Vaccines? What Experts Say

New Delhi: With the US and a few other countries being ready for a third or booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine, India is yet to take a call.

The US recently announced that a booster dose is essential after 8 months of the second dose as the antibodies start to wane off around this time. The third shots will be available from September 20 in the US. The UK, too, will start giving booster shots from next month.

AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria said on Saturday that there’s not enough data on booster dose, which could be available by early 2022.

“I don’t think we have enough data right now to say that a booster shot is needed. Even for elderly and high-risk groups, we do not have enough data. We really need to have data that gives us an idea of the protection levels the vaccines provide,” he said.

“Information is still emerging… it will take some more months. Possibly by beginning of next year, we will have data on what will be the type of booster shots and who needs it,” he added.

Guleria also pointed out that the UK had a huge surge, but there was not an increase in hospitalization, despite no booster shots being given.

However, he said India might need a booster shot “at some point in time.”

Recently, Serum Institute of India chairman Cyrus Poonawalla said that he and 7,000-8,000 of his employees had been given the third dose of Covishield as “after six months, the antibodies go down.”

Dr Shashank Joshi, a renowned endocrinologist from Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital, told The Week that a third dose can be thought for the immunocompromised and have not developed sufficient antibodies, such as those suffering from cancer, organ transplant issues, acute diabetes. He said this can be considered only after six months from now.

The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier said that booster shots are not needed currently and it should be a priority to vaccinate vulnerable people from low-income countries.

Around 9.3 per cent of India’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to Our World In Data.