INSACOG says booster shot suggestion not its mandate, didn't recommend it

Says immunity and protection from SARS-CoV-2 is multifactorial with several unknown factors and further compounded by emerging variants of concern

Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) has clarified that it has not recommended or suggested a booster dose in the national immunisation programme and that suggestions regarding vaccines, their schedule, and roll out is an express mandate of the  National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC).

In its latest newsletter INSACOG has said that immunity and protection from SARS-CoV-2 is multifactorial with several unknown factors and further compounded by emerging variants of concern. “Many more scientific experiments are needed to assess the impacts of booster dose, which are being guided and monitored by NTAGI and NEGVAC.”

The consortium said that there was a discussion about the potential role of an additional dose of the Covid-19 vaccines in high risk populations in its last newsletter.

This was in view of the emerging evidence from South Africa and some other countries about Omicron’s substantial ability to evade immunity from previous infection with Covid variants and consequently risk of reinfection with Omicron, it said.

The official count of Omicron positive cases detected in India is 23.

INSACOG in its newsletter dated November 23 had said that vaccination of all remaining unvaccinated at-risk people and consideration of a booster dose for those 40 years of age and over, first targeting the most high-risk,  high-exposure may be considered. “...since low levels of neutralising antibodies from current vaccines are unlikely to be sufficient to neutralise Omicron, although risk of severe disease is still likely to be reduced,” INSACOG had said.

No decision on booster dose was taken in the meeting of the NTAGI held on Monday with reports of a split within the committee over the issue.

The issue of booster doses has gained currency in the backdrop of a new highly mutated variant Omicron, first detected in India. Globally, the variant of concern has appeared in more than 35 countries, with rapidly growing outbreaks in Southern Africa. The data available so far suggests high infectivity, possibly greater than Delta.

INSACOG said that there is insufficient data to determine whether disease severity is different from previous variants, but rising hospitalizations in affected regions suggest that it would be premature to consider it less virulent.

Eighty-five per cent of India's eligible adult population has received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine. A decision on booster dose and jabs for children will be taken on the basis of scientific advice, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya had told the parliament last week on Friday.

The health ministry had said that the severity of the disease due to Omicron is anticipated to be low due to the fast pace of vaccination in India and high exposure to delta variants as shown by high seropositivity.