As we wait for the Omicron tsunami to crest in India, the government has announced the booster dose of the vaccine for Covid-19 for senior citizens over-60, beginning January 10. Pervez Cooper, 62, said, “I would like to take the Covishield booster as I had taken two Covishield doses earlier. My son has recently moved to Australia and the booster may be mandatory, I do not know as yet, if I need to visit him, later. I do hope that it is efficacious in fighting this virus.” For Mahrukh Irani, 79, the avalanche of opinions and information is confusing to say the least. “I will go with the flow, I think. I will do what my family tells me, as per their advice,” she stated.

Availability constraints

Gajanan Joshi, who has just turned 60, stated, “The booster is important, but I must say that we, by which I mean in India, are not looking at things scientifically. Our vaccine policy is not a fully scientific one, but mixed with a compelling one. By that I mean, it is based on demand and supply of vaccines, the supply chain. For instance, the huge gap between the first and second vaccination dose was because of availability constraints. I had heard Dr Cyrus Poonawalla speak somewhere that there should not be such a large gap between the first and second dose. In the same way, boosters are now rolling out by January 10. That is okay I guess, but I hope we do not have any extensions and delays. We need to be guided by science and not by administrative constraints. If we have any such constraints, then we must focus on the same, including the supply chain, overcome those constraints and ensure that the booster doses are done, without any excuses."