Unofficially, Citizens Are Opting For A Third Dose!

With reports of new Covid variants like Omicron, which is highly transmissible, gaining ground, fear of a third wave lingering in the mind and no clear policy from the government yet on the booster dose, citizens are opting for a third dose privately.

Healthcare workers, vaccine trial participants and vulnerable groups are taking the third dose privately. Unofficially, Private hospitals are giving the third dose without any certificate.

It is learnt that the government is likely to come out with a policy on the additional dose in the next week for people with underlying conditions. At present, the government is focused on vaccinating nearly 10-12 crore public still unvaccinated.

According to reports, a few vaccine trial participants and a few doctors are also taking the additional vaccine dose for extra protection from infection, after 8-9 months of taking the second dose.

Experts felt that citizens can go for booster doses if they want to bearing the expenses for it. A few countries have already started immunizing public with booster shots.

Meanwhile, a few people wanting to take the additional dose expressed doubt if they can mix different vaccine doses.

Meanwhile, senior immunologists felt that people need not rush to take the booster dose just because the antibodies have dropped. Every individual will have cellular immunity too which is robust than that induced through the vaccine dose. People taking vaccine shot after getting infected with Covid-19 will have hybrid immunity, which includes both natural and vaccine-induced immunity.

Doctors suggest the best way to keep the virus at bay is to observe Covid appropriate behavior including wearing a mask and maintaining physical distance.