Precaution dose is needed as protection is waning, says Dr VK Paul

India’s vaccination drive has hit a major milestone. with the overall tally crossing 200 crore doses. More than 71 percent of Indians have been fully vaccinated while only 4.3 percent have taken the precautionary dose.

However, the offtake for precautionary doses saw a sharp jump after July 15, when the government announced free jabs for all adults between the 18 to 59 age group. Daily tally of the booster dose surged from over 9 lakh doses on July 14 to over 19 lakh doses on the 16th.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Dr VK Paul, head of the National COVID-19 Task Force, said, “The precaution dose is needed because with time, the immunity declines. These will be boosted through another vaccine, another dose. Currently, six months after the second dose is our guideline for precautionary. The point is that if all of us have to be optimally protected, then that optimality is complete only when we have received the precautionary dose.”

Meanwhile, India’s active caseload stands at over 1.4 lakh cases — daily new cases fell to around 17,000 after staying above 20,000 for four consecutive days, although the rate of hospitalisation has remained stable.