Booster shots for 40+ and frontline workers to cost govt another Rs 10k cr

If booster shots are given on priority, the pace of vaccination may slow further. In the worst case scenario, the country will take till mid-March to vaccinate its entire adult population partially.

Last week, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that initial lab studies showed that the third dose of the Covid vaccine neutralises the Omicron variant. While the decision to administer the third dose in India still hangs in the balance, a few days ago, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) in its weekly bulletin said that it had discussed administration of booster dose to those aged above 40.

An analysis of data suggests that the government would need an additional 430 million doses (assuming 6 per cent wastage) to administer booster shots--a third dose--to population aged 40 and above (375 million) and