Here’s everything you need to know about the third dose of vaccination– should you get one, its effectiveness and more

The recent data shows that effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines has been on the decline. To simply put, the covid-19 vaccine effectiveness is seen declining and the global debate on booster shots is gathering momentum. Several scientists and health experts are still prioritising the need to inoculate people with at least the first jab of covid vaccine.

Less than 15 per cent of Indian adults have been vaccinated with both the doses of covid-19 vaccines. This means that there are still many people, who are more vulnerable to infection, who have not received both the doses, said Immunologist Satyajit Rath to news agency PTI.

I think that it is too soon to think about a third dose of vaccine for a fortunate category of people at this point of time, he added. While the US has approved a third vaccine for a selected category of people, in this article we tell you the possible reasons why vaccine efficacy may be declining and whether you should consider getting a third dose of vaccine.

The data shows that while the protection against the infection has been declining (especially in Israel and USA), the protection against the hospitalisation from COVID still remains high. The individuals vaccinated earlier this year in Israel are more susceptible to the infection as compared to those who were vaccinated later.

Should you be worried?

Well, you better not! Because vaccines are still protecting us against the covid hospitalisation. A public vaccination programme means protecting its population from infection, transmission and hospitalisation. Even if the protection against the infection, by any chance, sees declines, the protection it provides against hospitalisation would still be beneficial.

Will the third dose protect?

The additional benefit that will come from the third dose is improved effectiveness against infection. The two-dose regimen is still highly protective against the chances of covid hospitalisation. We currently have very little data that shows improvement in antibody levels and effectiveness after receiving a third dose.