Less than 10,000 booster doses (precautionary doses) of COVID vaccines were administered in India on Sunday, when the country expanded the inoculation drive against coronavirus for all adults. According to the Union Health Ministry, 9,674 precautionary doses were given on the opening day.

With the vaccination drive opening up to a major chunk of the Indian population, the vaxxed numbers were expected to rise dramatically. However, a slump was observed as India’s total vaccination tally increased marginally, with the total being 185.74 crores on Sunday.

The government said that mix and match of vaccines would not be allowed in the current expansion, meaning that people would only be permitted to get vaccinated using the same brand that was used in the last two doses.

Also Read: Hospitals sceptical of getting fresh stocks for boosters amid demand concerns

The question remains: What could be the possible reasons for the low outcome?

The omicron impact

India’s COVID infections, like the world, increased dramatically earlier this year with the omicron variant surfacing. The variant did spread quickly, but was unable to cause much harm and ended up giving recovered individuals an extra layer of protection from the disease. 

“Repeated antigenic exposure always leads to immune boosting. The job of the vaccine is to expose people to antigens but the way omicron has spread, it has already opened up people to antigens, which usually helps produce immunity to fight the disease”, an unnamed government official told the Times of India.

Also Read: ‘Hybrid immunity’ offers the best protection against COVID-19: Studies

Private and paid vaccines

The new slab opened up in India’s vaccine drive last week and allowed all adults to get the booster shot, however, it was only available at government-approved private institutions. Moreover, these booster shots were not free.

The Indian government capped the price that can be charged by the private institutions – Rs. 150 can be charged by the institutions on top of the cost of the vaccine.