Covid-19: Two doses done, now eager for a third | Economic Times

With more vaccine-surplus countries rolling out booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines or announcing their intent to do so, an increasing number of the vaccinated in India are seeking medical advice on whether and when they should get a third jab, according to several major hospital groups. Those eager for the third jab include healthcare workers, who were the first to get vaccinated, the immuno-compromised and the well-heeled, say doctors and healthcare sector experts. India does not yet have a policy on a booster vaccination, with half of the adult population having received a single dose so far and about 15% being fully vaccinated.“There are a lot more enquiries coming about the booster dose. We’ve come across high net worth individuals (HNIs) who have taken Covishield and now want to take Covaxin, and vice-versa, since mRNA vaccines are not available here,” says Sangita Reddy, joint managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group. “But the government is focused on giving people their first and second dose. No one would want to divert the much-needed first and second dose to a third dose,” she adds.“There are staff who keep asking about a booster dose because healthcare workers got the dose first, in January. But we tell them that we have to follow government guidelines,” says Dr Bishnu Panigrahi, group head- medical strategy and operations, Fortis Healthcare. “We have a finite amount of vaccines available to us. So the priority is to get more people vaccinated first, which is the right approach,” he says.While NITI Aayog member (health) VK Paul recently told the media that the government is not yet considering booster shots as there is no recommendation for it from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, the chairman of vaccine maker Serum Institute (SII), Cyrus Poonawalla, had said the company had given a third dose to “seven to eight thousand SII employees”. Poonawalla said he himself had taken a third dose because “after six months, the antibodies go down.” The company declined to comment for this story.Dr Sudarshan Ballal, chairman, Manipal Hospitals, says he has been getting queries about a third dose from patients who are immunocompromised. “I have many queries from this segment since many of them know that the US is offering a booster dose for those in this category.” The reports of breakthrough infections have been another trigger for increased interest in a booster dose, says Dr Swati Rajagopal, consultant- infectious disease at Aster CMI Hospital. But it’s not just healthcare workers and the immunocompromised who are interested in a third jab. “Even a regular person, who’s double vaccinated, wants to know if they’ll need one. The fear is, when another wave comes, where will they stand — can they lower their guard, do they need to take as many precautions as earlier,” says Dr Bornali Dutta, director, pulmonary medicine, Medanta. While there have been some studies showing that the immunity from the Covid-19 vaccine wanes over time, there is no overwhelming evidence yet of a third booster dose being imperative immediately. “There is no need for booster shots at this time. It’s more important to give at least one dose to maximum number of people and finish up with two doses. In India, booster shots will not become available anytime soon but of course the rich and empowered have their own ways. In my view that would be totally unnecessary at this time from a public health perspective,” says Dr Shahid Jameel, virologist and director, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University.There are also moral and ethical concerns around giving a third dose of the vaccine when the majority of the global population remain unvaccinated. Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation had asked for a moratorium on vaccine booster doses at least till the end of September, subsequently saying “In the context of ongoing global vaccine supply constraints, administration of booster doses will exacerbate inequities by driving up demand and consuming scarce supply while priority populations in some countries, or subnational settings, have not yet received a primary vaccination series.” This was even as countries like Israel, Bahrain, the UAE have already begun offering booster doses while others like Germany and the UK are set to do so in September, to select groups.