NTAGI, working group to take call on 3rd dose for India
NTAGI is reviewing scientific evidence and will decide whether the vaccine platform should be different for the third dose, people with knowledge of the matter told ET.
The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) and the Covid-19 working group will meet next week to decide which vaccine can be taken as a 'precautionary dose' amid worries that the Omicron variant is leading to higher infections.
NTAGI is reviewing scientific evidence and will decide whether the vaccine platform should be different for the third dose, people with knowledge of the matter told ET.
Awaiting Local Information
The advisory group held a series of meetings this week to review available data from international studies and is awaiting local information. Its members are hopeful that by next week, India will have its own data on the effectiveness of the available vaccines, after which NTAGI will meet. The Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), has isolated and cultured the Omicron strain of Covid-19 in its laboratory.
Scientists are evaluating the behaviour of the strain in the Indian population in order to ascertain its infectiousness and assess the efficacy of existing vaccines. The National Institute of Virology in Pune is also trying to grow the new strain and will soon come up with its findings. "Before the next meeting, we should have some clarity if the new variant is immune to vaccines and how severely it affects an infected individual," a senior government official said.
