Amid the Omicron scare, the Centre has said that a booster dose can be taken 9 months after the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting on Thursday regarding challenges posed by Omicron variant.
Union Health Ministry informed a Parliamentary panel yesterday that if required, a third dose can be taken, but only after nine months of the second dose, sources close to the ministry said. The government has however not authorised any COVID-19 booster shot so far.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting chaired by Ram Gopal Yadav was attended by Health Secretary, ICMR Director-General and other top officials from the ministry. During the meeting, the health officials gave a detailed presentation on the Omicron variant and other COVID-19 related issues.
Health Ministry officials made the statement while giving a presentation on the new Omicron COVID-19 variant. Officials informed that so far 23 cases of Omicron variant has been reported from India and authorities are closely monitoring the situation.
Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of Omicron infections which presently stands at 10 cases, followed by Rajasthan with nine, officials told the panel in the presentation. They added that globally there are 2303 cases of the Omicron variant.
Recently, the Serum Institute of India had sought approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for Covishield as a booster dose. However, no decision has been taken on it so far.
