Covid-19: Covovax better booster for Covishield-vaccinated people: Dr Shahid Jameel

Noted Virologist Dr Shahid Jameel informed Covovax would be a better booster for those who were administered Covishield jabs than another dose of the same vaccine.

“Data available at this time suggests that of the vaccines approved in India, Covovax would be a better booster in Covishield-vaccinated people than another dose of Covishield,” Jameel, the former head of the advisory group to the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia (INSACOG), told leading news agency PTI.

Jameel, the former head of the advisory group to the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia (INSACOG), said there is no data for the other combinations of vaccines as of now.

Covovax has been developed by US-based vaccine maker Novavax Inc. that had announced a licence agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the development and commercialisation of NVX-CoV2373, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in low and middle-income countries and in India.

Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on December 17 approved emergency use listing of Covid vaccine Covovax, produced by the Serum Institute of India under licence from Novavax and part of the Covax facility portfolio.

India recorded 961 Omicron cases across 22 states and Union territories (UTs), Delhi records the highest cases of Omicron infection at 263, followed by Maharashtra at 252.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that a “precaution dose” would be administered for healthcare and frontline workers and citizens above 60 years of age and with comorbidities from January 10.