Data on need for Covid vaccine booster dose by 2022 : Dr Randeep Guleria

Dr Guleria said that the data available in India do not indicate that a third dose is necessary, but more information is likely to be available by early next year.

Countries like the UK, US and Israel have decided to administer a third dose to their citizens vulnerable to getting the infection ahead of the winter.

"Globally, we are seeing that people who have been vaccinated continue to have protection from severe disease and they are not seeing a huge surge in people getting admitted to hospitals... in India too," Dr Guleria was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Recently, the US and the UK have witnessed a steep rise in daily coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant, India has been recording a decline following a devastating second wave -- it had 34,457 new COVID-19 cases and 375 deaths in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said on Saturday.

Positivity rate in India has also slipped to 2 per cent. According to WHO, positivity rates below 5 per cent for two weeks straight indicates an outbreak has been brought under control.

However, Dr Guleria said booster shots may be required in India at some point of time.

"Will we need it from vaccines available? Should we look at a new vaccine or the same vaccine? Should we mix the vaccines as a booster? This is the information that is still emerging," he said, according to NDTV.

The World Health Organization had said earlier this week that so far data do not indicate that COVID-19 booster shots are required. It also stressed that the most vulnerable people across the world should be fully vaccinated before rich countries deploy a top-up.