Exploring the idea of booster doses when enough shots are not available in the country to vaccinate everyone is unnecessary, said Randeep Guleria, Director, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Delhi.
So far, over 60 crore doses have been administered in the country but still not all in the high-risk category and those with co-morbidities have been vaccinated. The World Health Organization has also appealed against booster shots.
Speaking at a virtual conference organised by Integrated Health & Wellbeing Council, Guleria said the focus should be on vaccinating as many people as possible to curb the spread. “We don’t have enough data to show that booster data is required… We don’t have enough doses to vaccinate everyone and we are trying to look at giving booster doses when there is not enough evidence to say that it would help. We should focus on vaccinating high-risk groups and those with co-morbidities,” he said.
“Unfortunately, a lot of investment went into vaccine development, but we did not really invest much into research for antivirals. We don’t really have an effective antiviral drug that can be used efficiently as of now,” Guleria said.
He said a lot of preparation has been done for a likely third wave and training is being provided in collaboration with AIIMS for the treatment of children.