Dr Sanjay Mukundan, Joint Secretary of Association of Foreign Graduated Physicians, Kerala emphasis that with the increase in cases, it becomes extremely important to get vaccinated. Over time, all of us need to get jabbed with booster shots. Experts are continuously trying to raise adequate awareness around booster shots in order to prevent another possible wave of the pandemic
India is still registering numerous COVID cases, experts are unsure whether the country will face a new wave. The health ministry recorded 4,518 new cases on June 6, making it extremely essential to get vaccinated, especially in the wake of Omicron and its sub-lineages. Vaccination is the key component of the pandemic response to reduce the incidence of COVID-19 infection across the globe. With the increase in cases, it becomes extremely important to get vaccinated. Over time, all of us need to get jabbed with booster shots. Experts are continuously trying to raise adequate awareness around booster shots in order to prevent another possible wave of the pandemic.
Booster shots are a safe and effective way to extend protection against variants of concern. There are two types of booster shots – one is homologous boosters and the other one is heterologous boosters. Homologous booster means getting jabbed with the same vaccine – for example, someone who has been inoculated his/her first and second dose with Covishield, is getting Covishield vaccine only as a booster dose. Heterologous vaccine means the use of two different vaccines which is also termed as ‘mix and match approach’. For example, someone who has been jabbed with Covaxin as their primary shots will get a different vaccine as a booster. According to Lancet, the mixed and match approach provides better clinical outcomes compared to homologous vaccines.[i]
By mixing and matching vaccines, countries can ramp up the vaccination drive much faster. In India, the booster program started in January, limited to frontline workers and the elderly, administering a total of 24 million doses. India has Covaxin, Corbevax, Covishield, and Sputnik Light. The aim of administering booster shots is to provide people with an ‘extra layer of safety’.
Based on the data collected at the Italian Spallanzani Institute and results of previous studies, heterologous boosting with Sputnik Light tends to increase other vaccines’ efficacy and extend the booster protection period as optimal adenoviral platform configuration provides better protection against Omicron and other variants. Sputnik Light is based on recombinant human adenovirus (medium-sized, nonenveloped) serotype number 26 (the first component of Sputnik V). A one-shot vaccination regimen of Sputnik Light provides ease of administration and helps to increase the efficacy and duration of other vaccines when used as a booster shot.
The Covishield vaccine uses modified spike proteins from a chimpanzee adenovirus, ChAdOx1virus, to elicit immunity in the body. During its booster trials, Covishield showed promising results, and when given as a booster shot, Covishield increased the immune response against COVID-19 variants. The Covaxin vaccine is developed with Whole-Virion Inactivated Vero Cell-derived technology which means that it contains inactivated viruses that cannot infect but give protection to a vaccinated person.
As the world races to vaccinate as many people as possible against COVID-19, these mixing and matching vaccines could be one more weapon against the inequality in global vaccine access. Mixing shots will be the reality for many countries around the world aiming to make the best use of the vaccines available to them.
Reference:
[i] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(22)00112-7/fulltext
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