Vero Cell given to elderly, possible 3rd dose

People above the age of sixty are being jabbed with the Vero Cell vaccine. There are also discussions on giving 3rd doses to older people who may have a compromised immune system.

The National Vaccine Advisory Committee has already recommended administering a third dose. However, a formal decision on this matter is yet to be taken by the Ministry of Health and Population.

The Health Ministry has stated that anyone with weaker immunity will be administered the third dose regardless of the vaccine they took- Pfizer, Vero Cell, AstraZeneca, or Janssen.

The World Health Organization has also recommended administering an additional dose to people with immunities that may have weakened. Such people also include cancer patients, HIV-infected people, people who had organ transplantations, or immunosuppressant-dependent people.

Booster shots do not serve the same purpose as the third dose.

Two doses are given to people in order to increase their immunity levels, which will successfully fight off the viruses. However, some people have lower than average levels of immunity. To make them strong enough to fight the virus, two doses may not be enough. These are the ones who receive the third dose, and not the booster shot.

The booster shot’s intention is to restore the protection given by vaccines to people with normal immunity levels which may have decreased to a level that is no longer deemed sufficient to fight the virus.

In other words, the booster shot keeps the potency of previous vaccines intact, while the third dose emboldens the immune system directly in people with low natural immunity.

WHO, Canadian Health Ministry, and several health experts have differentiated the booster shots and third doses, citing their importance in different scenarios. This is the consideration that is being taken by Nepal’s health ministry.

Officials have stated that the Ministry has not decided about a booster shot yet, and the World Health Organization has not recommended one in the case of Nepal either. WHO has recommended that the target population in a country should be given their primary doses before booster doses are prioritized. This was also debated in Nepal a few days ago.