The Union Health Ministry on Thursday accepted the recommendation of the Covid working group to extend the gap between the first and second doses of Covishield vaccine from 6-8 weeks to 12-16 weeks.
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan took to Twitter regarding the decision made by the ministry. “Gap between 2 doses of #CovishieldVaccine has been increased to 12-16 weeks from 6-8 weeks currently. Decision has been taken based on recommendations given by Covid working group after analysing emerging evidence,” he tweeted.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, based on the available real-life evidence, particularly from the United Kingdom, the Covid-19 Working Group agreed for increasing the dosing interval to 12-16 weeks between two doses of Covishield vaccine.
However, no such changes were recommended for the interval of Covaxin vaccine doses.
“The recommendation of the Covid Working Group was accepted by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC), headed by Dr V.K. Paul, Member (Health) Niti Aayog, in its meeting on May 12,” the Ministry said.
“The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also accepted this recommendation of the Covid Working Group for extension of the gap between the first and second doses of Covishield vaccine to 12-16 weeks,” it said.
India started the world’s largest vaccination drive on 16 January this year in a phased manner with healthcare workers getting inoculated first. The vaccination of frontline workers started on 2 February. The next phase of Covid-19 vaccination commenced from 1 March for those over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. India launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 from 1 April. Phase 3 of the vaccination drive commenced on 1 May for the beneficiaries belonging to the age group 18-44.