Amiran Gamkrelidze: When we vaccinate a large part of the population twice, then it will be expedient to talk about the third dose

When we vaccinate a large part of our population twice, then, of course, it will be expedient to talk about the third dose, - said Amiran Gamkrelidze, head of the National Center for Disease Control, in response to a question about the booster dose on Facebook Live.

As Gamkrelidze notes, the decision regarding the "booster" dose will be announced in late autumn.

"Only a few countries have voiced the booster initiative and started it. The United Arab Emirates, Israel and the United States are now deciding to have a booster eight months after the second vaccination. These countries, which I have named, have 60% of the population vaccinated twice. When we vaccinate a large part of our population twice, then, of course, it will be expedient to talk about the third dose. Let's not take away the vaccine as the third dose from people who need 2 doses. A sufficient amount of vaccine is with us, it's gradually coming in, but let’s talk about that in late October, early November.

In my opinion, during this pandemic, a booster will be needed. Yet, there is no evidence that this will be after 6-8-10 months. Therefore, based on the experience of international practice, we will make this decision in late autumn", - said Gamkrelidze.