Will Citizens Need 3rd Or Booster Dose Of Covid Vaccine? Bombay HC Seeks Clarity From Maha Govt

Bombay HC pointed out that the Maharashtra Covid-19 task force mentioned that despite both doses of Covishield or Covaxin, citizens might need a third or a booster shot of the vaccine.

As the Maharashtra government started easing the lockdown restrictions, the Bombay High Court on Monday raised a valid question regarding the citizens, who had received both doses of vaccines asking the state government if there is a need for a third or a booster shot anytime in the future.

Raising the concerns over the next wave of the pandemic, a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni pointed out that the Maharashtra Covid-19 task force had mentioned that despite both doses of Covishield or Covaxin, citizens might need a third or a booster shot of vaccine to protect themselves from several variants of the coronavirus.

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"Please check how far is a third or booster dose necessary," the HC asked the Maharashtra government.

What did judges say about the need for a second dose?

While citing the state task force, the HC asked, "The state task force had said a third dose might be required to be taken 10 months from receiving the second shot of Covishield, and six months from the second Covaxin dose. Is that still the case?"

The HC raised a query to Maharashtra Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni while hearing a bunch of public interest litigations ranging from redressal of several issues related to the management of resources to fight pandemic, preparations for the third wave of the pandemic, and problems faced while booking vaccination slots on the CoWIN portal.

How many people in Maharasthra vaccinated so far?

As per the state government, of 12.23 crore people in the state, 3.35 crore had received the first dose of the anti-Covid-19 vaccine. A total of 1.13 crore people had received both doses, it said. The state was informed about the shortage of vaccine allocation from the Union government. The HC bench also directed the state government and the Centre to consider opening dedicated ticket counters at railway stations for fully vaccinated people.

These counters can issue fresh identity cards and travel passes to citizens after they produce their vaccination certificate along with the Aadhaar card to verify their identity and confirm that they have received both doses of the vaccine, the court said.