Vaccination. Decision on Covid-19 vaccination for children, booster vaccines is too little, too slow: T Jacob John

The decision on children vaccination and booster doses for frontline and healthcare workers is in the direction but "it's too little and too slow' to face the Omicron onslaught which is around the corner, said India's top virologist T Jacob John, a retired professor and Head of the Departments of Clinical Virology and Microbiology at CMC Vellore.

"The decision is undoubtedly in the right direction but it is too little and too late. Omicron was knocking at our door from late November, our best bet was to build a wall of high immunity against Omicron even when we figured it out whether that wall was strong enough or not," John said.

"Now building a wall is bit too late and too little because what about people below 15 and those below 60 who won't get booster," John said.

"For community protection, you need Omicron spread to be little slower. That means much wider application of booster doses," John added.

"Omicron may not cause much damage but it is because of the fact that people are already immunised, at least partially. Omicron doesn't totally ignore immunity but it dodges immunity a little bit," he further stated.

The direction is correct, as we have to prioritize somewhere. Down the road expanding it to others will have to be done, he said.

The top virologist also stressed upon promoting the vaccination programme in a right way. According to him, instead of saying, " India has achieved the landmark vaccination target of ....", the message should be around Omicron to nudge people to complete their vaccination and taking booster doses.

"Public education is necessary. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charisma should be put to use to motivate people to take their vaccine doses," John added.

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