Booster shots won’t grant immunity: Experts

The best way to deal with the rise of Covid infections due to JN.1 is not to panic and continue taking precautions.

Hyderabad:  With Covid infections rising steadily across Telangana and elsewhere in the country due to the new sub-variant of corona virus JN.1, public health specialists and vaccine experts have made it clear that fresh vaccine booster shots will not grant immunity to individuals.

The best way to deal with the rise of Covid infections due to JN.1 is not to panic and continue taking precautions, like wearing a mask at public areas or avoiding large gathering, senior health officials said.

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Almost all the Covid vaccines that are available in India have not been updated, even as the new variants of the corona virus have continued to evolve at a quick pace. As a result, there is a question mark over the effectiveness of the existing Covid vaccines in preventing fresh cases of Covid infections or strengthening immunity.

Epidemiologists and virus trackers, however, have pointed out that so far there has been no evidence that JN.1 is severe in nature. The symptoms of JN.1 variant are very similar to that of other Omicron variants including fever, nasal discharge and cough.

The only differentiating factor is that this time around, there could be positive cases that report diarrhea and severe body aches. Moreover, almost all the patients are recovering within a time frame of 2 to 5 days without complications, doctors in Hyderabad said.

Public health experts and virologists firmly believe there will be a surge of Covid infections across all parts of the country after the New Year holidays. While healthy individuals would be able to withstand the symptoms from JN.1 infection, and in the process even gain some natural immunity, it is the vulnerable population, mainly comprising of elderly and patients and chronic diseases of the heart, kidney, liver etc, who will be at a risk.

“Senior citizens and vulnerable population can definitely take basic precautions like wearing a mask whenever they are in public areas. Moreover, individuals must also focus on basic cough etiquette, which will go a long way in preventing spread of infections. People must realize that Covid has become endemic in India and there could be a small surge during ideal weather conditions,” says Dr Ch Mohan Rao, former Director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).

Based on the available evidence, the WHO has maintained that the risk posed by JN.1 currently is very low.