PM Modi announced Saturday that booster doses would be rolled out from 10 January. Scientific studies have found that protection wanes after the 2nd dose, and recommended boosters.
Centre is yet to recommend booster dose for Covid vaccine & CoWin neither allows registration for third dose nor issues certificate for it. But that appears to be no impediment for some.
No decision has been taken yet on whether booster shots will be given, even as healthcare workers who got fully vaccinated in February near 10 months of vaccination.
The virologists and epidemiologists underlined that booster doses of any vaccine (except live attenuated like oral polio vaccine or OPV, measles) exponentially raise antibody levels.
The findings come as UK accelerates its booster campaign in the face of the heavily mutated variant. Officials expect omicron to become the dominant variant by the middle of December.
Booster shots are like trying to stop a fire by pouring a mug of water repeatedly at one spot. Ensuring everyone is vaccinated is better in the long run.
INSACOG says low levels of neutralising antibodies from current vaccines are unlikely to be sufficient to neutralise Omicron, but adds that the 'risk of severe disease is still likely to be reduced'.
The study looked at safety, immune response and side-effects of seven vaccines — Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Novavax, Janssen, Moderna, Valneva and Curevac.
The efficacy of the third shot was consistent across age groups and among people with pre-existing conditions, Pfizer and BioNTech said in a statement.
Despite growing passenger volume, 11 out of 14 carriers reported losses in 2023-24. IndiGo recorded profit of Rs 8,167 crore, which reduced to Rs 7.253 crore in 2024-25.
Dubai airshow crash & pilot death have rekindled concerns over pilot safety, and need for smarter automated systems that can step in when G-forces, temporary loss of consciousness hit the pilot.
None of Pakistan’s PMs has lasted 5 years. That the current PM has given Asim Munir 5 years shows that of all military dictatorships history has seen, Pakistan’s is most creative.
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