COVID Panel Chief NK Arora: Nasal Vaccine Cannot Be Taken After Booster Shot

NEW DELHI: The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) chief Dr. N K Arora stated that the nasal vaccine, iNCOVACC, cannot be administered to individuals who have already received a precaution or booster dose, nearly a week after the Center approved Bharat Biotech's needle-free intranasal Covid vaccine for a booster dose. The COVID panel leader explained that the nasal vaccine is advised as the first booster in a recent interview. It is not suggested for someone who has already gotten a precautionary dose, for instance. For individuals who haven't yet taken a precautionary dose.

Arora further stated that as part of the vaccination programme, CoWIN portal will not accept the fourth dose if a person has already received a booster dose. Arora has been closely involved with the rollout of vaccines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We'll go ahead and presume you want to take the fourth dose. The term "antigen sink" refers to a certain idea. A person's body stops responding or responds ineffectively if they are repeatedly immunised with a specific type of antigen. That's why mRNA vaccinations are initially administered six months apart. Later, people take a three-month break. However, it hasn't done much good in that situation. Consequently, at this time, taking the fourth dose is useless, '' said Arora.

The nasal vaccine offers an extremely novel method of immunisation, he continued. The respiratory system's nose and mouth serve as the vaccine's entry site, and it is here that the immune system constructs barriers to prevent the virus from entering the body as easily. This is a platform that is going to be incredibly helpful in fighting not just Covid, but also all respiratory viruses and infections.

"During this pandemic, we established goals for ourselves, and we have succeeded in achieving them. We created the Covid vaccines COVAXIN and iNCOVACC, which use two different platforms and delivery methods. Our ability to quickly develop new products, scale up and provide simple, painless immunisation during pandemics and other public health emergencies are made possible by the vectored intranasal delivery platform," according to Dr. Krishna Ella, executive chairman of Bharat Biotech.

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