ICMR To Study How Long Vaccines Will Give Protection

New Delhi, 16 March 2021:

India’s top health research body is all set to study how long Covid-19 vaccine will protect those who are vaccinated and from transmitting the virus to others. The National Institute of Research in TB under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has started reviewing a cohort that has received the vaccine to understand the effectiveness of the vaccine.

“Right now it’s slightly premature to answer the question on effectiveness but we are working on it,” Balram Bhargava, DG, Indian Council of Medical Research, told ET. Taking a cue from how the antibody persists post vaccination, the researchers are looking at the data to see the antibody response, protection of antibodies etc. The participants will be followed up for a longer period of time,” said a government official.

Doctors say that many people are hesitant to get Covid-19 vaccine as they wait to learn how long people don’t pass Covid19 if they have been vaccinated.

“We have patients who want to know the effectiveness of the vaccine even as there is evidence that suggests that people who are vaccinated are less likely to have symptomatic infection and less likely transmit. But they are waiting as there is no India specific study so far that gives more confidence to people,” said a senior doctor in a government hospital, requesting anonymity.Economic Times