Modi govt says this on COVID-19 booster shots

Research is going on not only in India but also in other countries of the world about how long antibodies can remain in the body to fight coronavirus. On Tuesday, the government told the Rajya Sabha that scientific evidence is still being collected in this regard.

In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharti Praveen Pawar told the Rajya Sabha that many researchers and vaccine producers in India and abroad have been working to understand the stability period of corona antibodies. Scientific evidence in this regard is still developing.

He said that in addition to antibodies, 'cellular' or 'T cell' antibody mechanisms are also prepared through vaccination. It is very important in protecting against infection. The minister said that till December 2021, the states and union territories have reported a total of 4,69,724 deaths (including senior citizens) due to COVID-19.

On the question of increasing immunity through booster doses, the Minister of State for Health said that the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group and the National COVID Vaccination Expert Group are currently researching the scientific evidence regarding the vaccine dosage schedule and the booster dose.

Notably, the cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 129 crores on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said. Over 66 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Tuesday till 7 pm, it said.

According to the ministry, the daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late in the night.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.