VISAKHAPATNAM: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Sunday clarified that it has neither supported nor recommended a third dose of vaccination (booster dose) against COVID-19 in the country.
Speaking to the media in Visakhapatnam, IMA national president JA Jayalal and honorary general secretary Jayesh Lale said the third dose should be administered only after the entire population was fully inoculated. Both the vaccines are effective against the virus, they said. IMA said SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, has been under control as no further mutation of the delta variant was detected. However, the possibility of a third wave could not be ruled out.
“We are well-prepared and the government health care system is in place to tackle the virus. People should exercise caution against the virus,” they said. Lauding the Arogyasri scheme being implemented in the State, the IMA leaders said other States could emulate the model. The IMA demanded that the State and Central governments offer adequate insurance cover for each health worker fighting COVID-19.
They expressed concern over successive governments over the past two decades taking the medical field and common man for a ride through retrograde and myopic policies, misplaced priorities and deficit budgetary allocations.
The IMA demanded a Bill to be introduced in Parliament to rein in quacks, since lakhs of fake doctors are practising in the country. The organisation also demanded an annual budgetary allocation of at least four per cent of the GDP for the health sector, including funds to encourage research. Condemning the attacks on on-duty doctors, they demanded protection for physicians.The IMA also vowed to fight ‘mixopathy’ — mixing traditional medicine such as Ayurveda, Unani and Homoeopathy with Allopathic to treat patients.