Booster Shot Likely to Give Long-Term Protection Against COVID-19 Variants: Dr Al Khal

Dr Abdullatif Al Khal, Chair of the National Health Strategy Group on Covid-19.

The booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine could provide protection against the Delta and other variants of coronavirus for several months, even up to a year, according to Dr Abdullatif Al Khal, Chair of the National Health Strategy Group on Covid-19.

In an interview with Qatar TV, he said: “The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has decided to start giving the booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The duration of protection provided by the third dose against the Delta strain and other strains may extend to many months. We hope to reach up to a year.”

He added: “This approval is in line with the scientific evidence as well as the clinical evidence. Scientific evidence shows that the level of antibodies begins to decrease significantly eight months after taking the second dose. From the clinical point of view, it was found that those who took the two doses of the vaccine after six to eight months begin to have an increase in the rates of Covid-19 infection.”

Antibodies

Al Khal said: “Over the next few months, the vaccine will be given to most people who took the two doses in January, February and March of this year. It has been proven that those who take the third or booster dose have antibodies that are twice as much as the second dose.”

Speaking on Qatar’s vaccination programme, he said: “We were able to cover the majority of the population for vaccination – 78 per cent of the population so far two doses of the vaccine – in a short period of time. Nine out of 10 people took at least one vaccine dose,” he said.

“This is very encouraging. The vaccination programme has led to a significant decrease in the number of infections and a decrease in cases hospitalised,” he added.