Need for a booster dose
It has been almost 20 months since the world is grappling to fight the covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has not only affected our way of life but has also redefined our outlook about various important facets of life.
Since the arrival of vaccine to nail the pandemic was announced some hope did emerge that the pandemic may at last be controlled and tamed. But the joy of having defeated the virus is proving short-lived as the world is faced with new variants like Delta and now the Omicron.
Though various variants of the virus have been making our lives difficult but the latest variant Omicron has spelled some serious trouble owing to its fast transmission and some extra resistance to the vaccines that are already available in the market.
Just yesterday a study published in ‘The Lancet journal’ raised some serious questions over the declining protection of Covisheild vaccine.
The findings drawn from datasets in Brazil and Scotland suggest that booster programmes are needed to help maintain protection from severe disease in those vaccinated with AstraZeneca, known as Covishield in India. The study points out that protection fades drastically after three months of administration of both the doses.
The researchers analysed data for two million people in Scotland and 42 million people in Brazil who had been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
In Scotland, when compared with two weeks after receiving a second dose, there was approximately a fivefold increase in the chance of being hospitalised or dying from COVID-19 nearly five months after being double vaccinated, the researchers said.
The decline in effectiveness begins to first appear at around three months, when the risk of hospitalisation and death is double that of two weeks after the second dose. The researchers from Scotland and Brazil found that the risk of hospitalisation and death increases threefold just short of four months after the second vaccine dose. Similar numbers were seen for Brazil.
Since the vaccines have been a key tool in fighting the pandemic, but waning in their effectiveness has been a concern for a while. This also means that booster doses need to be given a clean chit by the authorities so that the threat the new variant extends is curbed just in time.
The study results should make it convenient for the governments to design booster programmes that can ensure that maximum protection is maintained. Booster doses can be started across the country as most of the population has been covered for the first two doses and the need for protecting the most vulnerable people needs to be addressed at an earliest.
KV Network
