New Delhi, Dec 30 (FN Agency) As India gears up to start the roll-out of booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines, Union Health Ministry on Thursday reminded that masking and Covid Appropriate Behaviour will remain the most efficient tools for protection against the coronavirus. Citing global evidence and scientific research from India, Director General (DG) Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Balram Bhargava said in a press briefing that the immunity against Covid-19 post the natural infection or through the vaccination may only last upto nine months. The ICMR chief reiterated that Covid-19 vaccines do not prevent infection and primarily prevents severity and mortality from the illness while adding that masking and CAB will remain the best defence against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “All Covid vaccines, whether they are from India, Israel, US, Europe, UK or China, are primarily disease-modifying.
They do not prevent infection. The precautionary dose is primarily to mitigate the severity of infection, hospitalisation and death,” he said during the press briefing on the Covid-19 situation held by Union Health Ministry today. “Evidence from multiple studies held across the globe and in India suggest that antibodies formed after the natural infection can persist upto nine months of recovery from the Covid-19. So if you get an infection, you are generally protected for 9 months,” he added. Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry informed that approximately 90 per cent of the adult population in India has been vaccinated against Covid-19 with the first dose, while 63.5 per cent of those eligible have been administered both doses of vaccines. Joint Union Health Secretary Lav Agarwal said that a sudden surge in daily cases is being reported from Delhi and multiple districts of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka. “Besides, the weekly positivity rate of more than 10 per cent is being noted in 8 districts – six in Mizoram, one in Arunachal Pradesh, and Kolkata,” he added.