Do we need Covid-19 vaccine booster shot? Here is what WHO chief scientist says
India TodayAmid supply delays, safety concerns that have slowed vaccination campaigns and deadly variants, many countries are exploring the option to switch to separate Covid-19 vaccines for second doses or booster shots. World Health Organisation's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan has said there is not enough information to either confirm or dismiss the requirement for a booster shot after vaccination against Covid-19. The U.S. National Institutes of Health said on June 1 it had started a clinical trial on fully vaccinated adults to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a booster shot of a different vaccine. On her take on combination of vaccines amid supply shortage, Soumya Swaminathan said, “It seems to be working well, this concept of heterologous prime-boostThis opens up the opportunity for countries that have vaccinated people with one vaccine and now are waiting for the second dose they have run out of, to potentially be able to use a different platform vaccine.” The health expert, however, added that early data from the UK, Spain and Germany suggested a “mix-and-match” regimen using two different types of vaccines generated more pain, fever and other minor side effects compared with two doses of the same inoculation.