Scientists looking into booster dose issue, says govt

The Union government on Friday said the scientific community is looking at all aspects of administering a booster dose of Covid vaccine while asserting that providing primary vaccination coverage to the maximum possible population remains the foremost goal.

These interventions and measures are driven by science, local epidemiology and resources, said NITI Aayog Member (Health) V K Paul at a press conference.

"This time around vaccine resources, broadly speaking, are in a good shape. What we are doing concurrently is engaging our scientific community to look at these issues on an ongoing basis," he said.

"When there is no resource constraint, our epidemiology and scientific discourse will decide this (booster dose of vaccine)," Paul said.

While stressing that competent teams are examining the issue of a booster dose, he said it would be opted for with appropriate evidence and at a proper time.

"But the fact remains that all this approach comes after we have provided primary vaccination coverage to the maximum possible population and that remains the foremost goal," Paul said while assuring the press conference that discussion on booster dose is ongoing.

According to the government, India has so far administered 82.8 crore first doses and 53.72 crore second jabs of Covid vaccine. More than 136 crore doses have been administered in the country which is 2.8 times the total doses administered in the United States, it said.