Govt Increases Gap Between Vaccine Dose to 6-8 Weeks
The central government has written to all states and Union Territories saying that the time gap between two doses of the Covishield vaccine should be increased to six-to-eight weeks for improved resul
The Central Government’s Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote a letter to the governments of States and Union Territories on Monday, 22 March.
In his letter he said that:
Currently many people above the age of 60 and people above 45 with comorbidities are being given [Box 03 Serum Institute of India’s COVISHIELD vaccine. The vaccine is given in 2 doses and the 2nd dose is being given 28 days. In the letter he asked states and Union Territories to increase the gap between the two doses to 6-8 weeks. This is because there is new research that suggests that if there is a large gap between the doses, the vaccine will be more effective to protect against the virus. The decision was taken on the basis of recommendations National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC)
The letter urged the States and UTs to instruct the concerned officials accordingly to undertake necessary to increase the gap between the two doses. In fact, on February 19, The Lancet had published the results of a study that showed that the Covishield vaccine may have a higher efficacy when administered with a three-month interval as compared to a six-week interval. This is only for the Covishield vaccine and not for Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.
