A consortium of 28 laboratories which monitors genomic variations in the coronavirus made a recommendation to the Center to consider giving COVID-19 vaccine booster shots topeople aged 40 years and above, amid Omicron concerns.

The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said that vaccination of all remaining unvaccinated at-risk individuals should be done and a booster dose for individuals aged 40 years and over, targeting the most high-risk and high-exposure ones initially, may be considered. It stated that low levels of neutralizing antibodies from the current vaccines may not be sufficient to neutralize Omicron variant, though risk of severe disease will likely be decreased.

The consortium stated that genomic surveillance will be crucial to detect the presence of this variant early in order to put the necessary public health measures into practice… (NDTV, December 3, 2021)