Kolkata: In sync with a demand for a booster dose, Bengal Global Advisory (GAB) for Covid-19 response has been discussed the importance of it in a recently held weekly meeting and has highly recommended additional doses.
He wants the state government to have a plan ready so that it can start the reinforcement dose and when it was introduced by the Ministry of Health Union.
“The immunity of induced vaccines will begin to fade eight to nine months after being fully vaccinated.
So, those who take the right vaccine at the beginning of the drive, including health workers and frontliners, will require a booster dose from January 2022 and so on, “Senior doctor Sukumar Mukherjee told Toi.
Gab Mukherjee member said the problem of the booster dose was discussed thin during the board meeting last Thursday.
Even as a decision to introduce a dose must come from the center and the protocol must be determined by the ICMR, keeping himself ready in advance will make the implementation easier, felt board members.
Toi on Saturday reported an increase in demand for the reinforcement dose of the section of health workers.
“We cannot move alone to introduce a booster dose.
While we waited for direction from the UNI Ministry of Health, we will keep our infrastructure ready for the third dose of launch so we can apply it immediately, “said a senior health official.
The IPGMER Hepatology Head Abhijit Chowdhury, who is also on the GAB board, said that while the booster dose will be needed, we need to remember financial and logistic problems given the fact that a large number of people who qualify in the country have not received even single doses.
“There is no doubt that immunity will start waning for those who take their JABS at the beginning of the drive and then the need for a booster dose.
But as a health activist, I feel very necessary to consider factors such as fiscal implications and vaccine equity when we talk about a booster dose, “Chowdhury said.
Many health experts say that at least 50% of Indian residents who meet the requirements must get fully vaccinated before the third booster is rolled out.
In West Bengal, around 80% of the qualified population have received the first dose while 31% have been fully vaccinated.
Health officials plan to get at least around 60% of the population to get both doses at the end of December.
“Our priority will now be to increase the second dose as soon as possible so that we have a respectable percentage of the population that meets the requirements fully vaccinated in the shortest possible time,” said a health official involved in inoculation planning.