Booster shots not central theme of discussion, full vaccination remains priority: Govt

New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday clarified on Thursday that the government’s priority remains to inoculate the eligible population for Covid-19 vaccination with the both doses ending speculation over introduction of a possible booster shot of the coronavirus vaccines.

Balram Bhargava, Director General (DG), Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), said “booster doses are not the central theme at the moment in the scientific and public healthcare discussion”.

“Booster doses are not the central theme at the moment in the scientific and public healthcare discussion. Getting a full vaccination of two doses remains a major priority. Several agencies have recommended that antibody levels should not be measured,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry said that Kerala is showing a decreasing trend in daily cases while a few states including Mizoram are becoming a cause of concern.

“Mizoram is a state of concern. In the coming 2-3 months, we have to maintain caution against any upsurge of Covid-19 cases. We request everyone to remain careful in the coming quarter. We are happy to see the number of cases stabilising, even in Kerala,” Dr VK Paul, member (Health) at NITI Aayog, said.

The ministry also cautioned against a spike in coronavirus infections, and stressed that the call of the hour is vaccine acceptance, maintenance of COVID-19-appropriate behaviour, responsible travel and limited festivities.

Thirty-four districts in the country are reporting a weekly positivity rate of over 10 per cent and the figure is anything between five and 10 per cent in 32 districts. Kerala reported 67.79 per cent of India's total COVID-19 cases last week and remains the only state with more than 1 lakh active cases, it added.

“Overall there is stabilisation in COVID-19 cases and Kerala has also reported a drop in cases. In the coming two-three months, we need to be cautious that there is no upsurge. It is also the period of festivities and also when flu cases rise. We request everyone to be careful and retain the gains that we have achieved in the pandemic management," Bhargava said. (UNI)