KOCHI: With the vaccination drive against Covid reaching a crucial stage, the discussion now is on the need for booster doses. While the Union health ministry is yet to clarify whether it is required or when is the suitable time to take the third jab, anxious healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses in Kerala, are taking booster doses silently.
According to sources, the trend is not restricted to private hospitals alone, but also seen in government hospitals. “Most of the healthcare workers including doctors and nurses have taken their jabs in the initial days after the vaccination started in January. Within two to three months, many were fully vaccinated. It has been around eight months now and many are getting anxious about waning antibodies.
The breakthrough infections and fear of post-Covid complications among the healthcare workers are laying stress on the booster doses,” said Dr. Gopikumar P, senior vice-president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA). The booster jabs are opted for by doctors after checking their antibody levels. The Kerala government has also urged the Union ministry to allow booster doses for those with comorbidities and reduce the second dose gap of Covishield vaccine.
“The post-Covid issues are the worst in those infected severely. The fear of getting infected again looms large in the health sector. Since we are seeing a dip in the cases and thanks to the vaccination drive in the state, the third wave is not expected to affect a major section of the population severely. But if any new variant emerges considering the rise in cases across Europe, the situation would be different,” said Dr. John Mathew, a physician based in Kochi.
“In many private hospitals, there is enough stock of Covid vaccines. The rush of those arriving for vaccination has come down these days. Therefore, to avoid wastage of the doses, healthcare workers are taking them as boosters,” added Dr. Mathew. However, there is a strong opinion against booster shots as the fully vaccinated lot across the nation is less. In India, over 113 crore vaccine doses have been administered and only about 39% of the adult population are fully vaccinated.
“Studies and research are taking place regarding the effectiveness of the booster doses. Scientifically, booster doses are not proven to be more effective than the two doses of vaccines. More studies are required in this field to arrive at any conclusion. But facilitating booster doses for those with comorbidities, rather than healthy people, should be considered seriously,” said Dr. Gopikumar.
Healthcare community anxious
Rising breakthrough infections and the fear of post-Covid complications have made the healthcare community anxious, to an extent, about getting infected again as the antibody level wanes. Presently, taking boosters is not in the protocol approved by the government. Most of the healthcare workers are falling prey to Covid multiple times, said Dr. John Mathew, a physician based in Kochi.