Booster doses not needed in India for now; third COVID wave unlikely: AIIMS Director

Ending speculations, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr. Randeep Guleria said booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine are not needed in India as of now.

“There is no surge of COVID-19 cases as of now. So, there is no need for a booster dose in India for now,” Dr. Randeep Guleria said at the book launch event.

Dr. Guleria was speaking at the launch of “Going Viral”, a book on the making of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, by ICMR Director-General Dr. Balram Bhargava.

The Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi also hailed the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country.

Guleria said the way the vaccines are holding up, chances of any huge wave with large admissions is declining with each passing day.

“It is unlikely that the third wave of COVID-19 of a magnitude comparable to the first and second will hit India. With time the pandemic will take an endemic form. We’ll continue to get cases but the severity will be highly reduced,” he said.

Meanwhile, the cumulative Covid 19 doses administered in the country crossed 118 crore on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said.

Over 68 lakh vaccine doses have been administered on Tuesday till 7 pm, it said while underlining the tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by in the late night.