New Delhi: ‘There is no need to vaccinate people who had documented coronavirus infection’, a group of public health experts said in a letter to PM Narendra Modi. The group, which comprises doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), national task force on COVID-19, the experts from Indian Public Health Association (IPHA), Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSM) and Indian Association of Epidemiologists (IAE) asserted that vaccinating the vulnerable and those at risk, instead of mass population-wide inoculation including children, should be the aim at present.
“The present situation of the pandemic in the country demands that we should be guided by the logistics and epidemiological data to prioritise vaccination rather than opening vaccination for all age groups at this stage. Opening all fronts simultaneously will drain human and other resources and would be spreading it too thin to make an impact at the population level,” the experts said in their report submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Highlighting that vaccination of young adults and children is not supported by evidence and would not be cost-effective, they said unplanned inoculation can promote mutant strains.
“Mass, indiscriminate, and incomplete vaccination can also trigger the emergence of mutant strains. Given the rapid transmission of infection in various parts of the country, it is unlikely that mass vaccination of all adults will catch up with the pace of natural infection among our young population,” they said in the report.
The suggestion by experts come at a time when the country is witnessing a significant drop in the number of COVID-19 cases. Earlier this month, PM Narendra Modi announced that vaccines will be provided free of cost to all Indians above the age group of 18 years.
