New Delhi: With the threat of the Omicron variant looming large, Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday questioned the centre regarding why the government is "not deciding on a protocol for a Booster Dose of COVID vaccine."
Taking to Twitter, Senior Congress leader said, "Serum Institute I believe has cut down its production by 50%!! GOI should not delay it anymore. Their indecision on COVID issue since 2020 March, has already cost the Country huge loss of life and led to suffering to millions."
Earlier on Tuesday, Maharashtra reported eight new cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus, with seven being reported from Mumbai and one from Vasai Virar.
With the discovery of the latest cases of Omicron, the variant that has sparked worldwide concern and prompted yet another round of travel restrictions, Maharashtra's count has risen to 28 and India's to 57.
Covid Booster Shots Can Wait: ICMR
The Indian Council of Medical Research said that booster injection may wait since it's more necessary to inoculate eligible individuals with the first two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine first, according to The Hindu.
Dr. Samiran Panda, Head, Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), had said that the need for a booster or supplementary COVID-19 vaccine dosage, as well as a reduction in the time gap between two doses of the existing vaccinations, is being investigated.
Booster shots are injections that are used to speed up the degradation of antibodies to the coronavirus. Almost 40 nations, primarily the wealthy and developed, allow residents to receive a third vaccination shot.
Four More Omicron Cases In Delhi
Recently, four more cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were detected in Delhi. All have travel history to foreign countries.
"So far, six people have been found Omicron-positive in the capital. One of them has been discharged. All of them had travelled to foreign countries and were transferred to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital from the (Indira Gandhi International) airport," Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told reporters.
Delhi's first Omicron patient, a 37-year-old man from Ranchi, was discharged on Monday after he tested negative for COVID-19 twice, PTI reported.
India Reports 6,984 New Covid-19 Cases
India reported 6,984 coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 3,47,10,628 while the active cases declined to 87,562, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
India's Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.