Take 2nd Covishield jab after 12-16 weeks: Govt
Expert panel says no change for Covaxin, discusses if people infected should wait 6 months before a shot
NEW DELHI: Indians who take the first dose of Covishield should wait between 12-16 weeks before taking the second shot, the Union government said on Thursday, approving a new set of recommendations from a technical expert group that will help give the first doses to more people and is consistent with studies that suggest a longer interval may offer better efficacy.
The doubling of the gap between doses from 6-8 weeks to 12-16 applies only to the Covishield dose, with the suggested interval for Covaxin remaining at 4-6 weeks. At least 90% of the doses administered in India are of Covishield, the made-in-india version of the Oxford Universityastrazeneca vaccine, according to the CO-WIN dashboard data as on Thursday.
“Based on the available real life evidence, particularly from the UK, the Covid-19 Working Group agreed for increasing the dosing interval to 12-16 weeks between two doses of Covishield vaccine. No change in interval of Covaxin vaccine doses was recommended,” said a statement by the government.
The statement added that the suggestion was accepted by the National Expert Group on Vaccine
Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC), headed by Niti Aayog member VK Paul, in its meeting on May 12, and finally by the Union health ministry.
“The earlier recommendation for a gap of 4-6 weeks was based on data available at the time. As more data became available, it was seen that increasing the duration helps,” Paul said at the government’s weekly press briefing on the Covid-10 situation on Thursday.
“Now, this decision is based on periodic reviews and on what we have seen as the real-life experience in UK where millions have taken the dose. The data was closely analysed and WHO experts were consulted, so we can be confident about the science around this decision,” he added.
On March 23, the government expanded the second dose interval to 6-8 weeks from the 4-6 week initially announced for Covishield.
According to officials aware of the matter, who asked not to be named, the government’s expert committees are also deliberating upon questions on if pregnant women or lactating mothers can be given coronavirus vaccines, and whether people who recovered from an infection should wait at least six months before they get a dose.
At present, pregnant or nursing mothers are not included in the list of people eligible for vaccines in India.
Several countries have also deliberated on these questions and some have clear policies. The UK’S Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended that the second dose of the Oxford-astrazeneca vaccine be given up to 12 weeks after the first. The European Medicines Agency too recommends a 12 week gap at most, although Spain expanded it to 16 weeks in late April. Most western expert groups, however, do not suggest a particular embargo for when Covid-recovered people should take a vaccine.