Precautionary dose to mitigate hospitalisation, not prevent Covid-19: Centre

ICMR director-general Dr Balram Bhargava said that use of masks should be properly followed and mass gatherings should be avoided to contain the spread of Covid-19.

With Omicron spreading at a rapid pace across the country, the Centre's health department on Thursday clarified that the precautionary booster dose is "disease-modifying" but they do not prevent infection from coronavirus.

ICMR DG Dr. Balram Bhargava addressing a press conference on Covid-19 in New Delhi.(ANI file photo)

“All COVID vaccines, whether they are from India, Israel, US, Europe, UK or China, are primarily disease-modifying. They don't prevent infection. The precautionary dose is primarily to mitigate the severity of infection, hospitalization, and death,” said ICMR director-general Dr Balram Bhargava.

“Use of masks before and after vaccination is a must and mass gatherings should be avoided... The treatment guidelines for the earlier and the currently circulating strains of coronavirus remain the same. Home isolation remains an important pillar,” he added.

Addressing the media, Union health joint secretary Lav Agarwal said that India has been reporting more than 10,000 daily cases.

Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka and Gujarat are emerging as states/UTs of concern with the increasing trajectory of Covid-19 cases, the health secretary added.

Notably, India is set to begin booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccine from January 10 for frontline workers and senior citizens above the age of 60.

“The government will send SMS to the eligible elderly population to remind them for taking the precautionary dose that starts from January 10,”  the health ministry said.

India registered 13,154 new Covid-19 cases and 268 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday with 961 Omicron cases. The maximum cases were reported from Delhi (263) and Maharashtra (252).