Covid: Pressure mounts on India to begin boosters as Omicron spreads

The heavily mutated and highly transmissible variant, which was discovered within India's borders earlier this month, has already led to 358 infections.

India’s government faces a growing clamor from business leaders and public health experts to launch a Covid-19 booster drive and begin vaccinating children as the nation braces for a surge of omicron-fueled infections.

With ample vaccine supplies, India could begin inoculating those under 18 as well as administer third doses to front-line health care workers, the elderly and those at high risk since they got their first shots in early 2021, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the founder and chair of Biocon Ltd. -- one of India’s largest drugmakers -- told Bloomberg on Thursday.

“We need a booster policy for sure,” she