Covishield booster after vax doses gets a thumbs-up

In an interview with Karan Thapar, Gagandeep Kang, microbiologist and professor at CMC Vellore, said that heterologous boosting with Covishield as a third shot after two doses of Covishield boosted antibody-led immune response by 58%

- SOHINI DAS

Covishield fares significantly better as a booster or third shot after primary vaccination with either Covishield or Covaxin, shows a Christian Medical College Vellore study on heterologous vaccine boosting.

In an interview with Karan Thapar, Gagandeep Kang, microbiologist and professor at CMC Vellore, said that heterologous boosting with Covishield as a third shot after two doses of Covishield boosted antibody-led immune response by 58 times.

In an interview to The Wire, Kang said the findings of the study on mixing Covishield and Covaxin as the booster shot after one was primed with either two doses of Covishield or Covaxin would be published this week. The findings have been submitted to the government already.

They show that Covishield is a far more effective booster after two Covaxin jabs than the other way round. So far, India has not allowed heterologous boosting of vaccines. At present, those who have taken two doses of Covishield have to take its third shot. Likewise, for those who have taken Covaxin.