Chhattisgarh minister urges govt to permit booster shots of Covid vaccine

Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo wrote to the Centre urging it to take a decision soon on administering booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine to people in priority groups

Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo on Tuesday wrote to the Centre urging it to take a decision soon on administering booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine to people in priority groups.

In a letter to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Singh Deo said several countries have been witnessing third and fourth waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and have started inoculating their people with the booster shots.

Experts from the country and abroad have been certifying that the level of COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibodies declines within six to nine months or lasts for nearly this period. Although the immunity continues to remain the same in some cases, the need for a booster dose is being felt, Singh Deo said in the letter.

The effect of the third and fourth wave of infection is being reported in several countries of the world and many nations have started administering booster shots to their citizens, the state health minister said.

Considering the risk of the viral spread, the time has come to permit a booster dose for healthcare workers (HCW), frontline workers (FLW), immuno-compromised and people above 60 years of age, he said.

Singh Deo urged the Union health minister to take an early decision in this regard and issue necessary guidelines for administering booster dose of the vaccine to people in the above categories.