Adar Poonawalla Urges Senior Citizens To Wear Masks, Take Covovax Booster As Covid Cases Rise

In a tweet, the Serum Institute Of India CEO emphasised that the Omicron XBB variant could be severe for the elderly and suggested that they take precautions.

A beneficiary being administered COVID-19 vaccine at a Noida hospital

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Serum Institute Of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday urged senior citizens in India to wear masks and consider taking Covovax as a booster dose as Covid cases in India continued to remain above the 5,500 mark. In a tweet, Poonawalla emphasised that the Omicron XBB variant could be severe for the elderly and suggested that they take precautions.

He also stated that Covovax is effective against all variants and has been approved in both the United States and Europe. Covovax can be administered to those who have already innoculated with Covishield or Covaxin.

"As Covid cases have been rising again with Omicron XBB and its variants, it can be severe for the elderly. I'd suggest for the elderly, mask up and take the Covovax booster which is now available on the COWIN app. It is excellent against all variants and is approved in the US and Europe," Poonawalla tweeted.

The Union Health Ministry has approved the inclusion of Serum Institute's Covovax on the CoWIN portal as a heterologous booster dose for adults, PTI reported. The vaccine will be available at a price of Rs 225 per dose plus applicable GST.

Covovax, developed by the SII in partnership with the US-based Novavax, is a recombinant spike protein nanoparticle vaccine.

The vaccine is administered intramuscularly in two doses, with SII recommending a gap of three weeks between the jabs.

In January, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved the market authorisation for Covovax for those who have been administered two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin.

The DCGI had approved Covovax for emergency use in adults on December 28, 2021, and in the 12 to 17 years age group on March 9, 2022. On June 28, 2022, Covovax was approved for children aged 7 to 11 years.

On Tuesday, India recorded 5,676 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases increased to 37,093. The death toll has increased to 5,31,000 with 21 deaths.

According to the Health Ministry's website, 220.66 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.