COVID-19 Vaccination: Covishield second dose gap reduced to 8-16 weeks

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a deadly nightmare for mankind for over two years now. The deadly virus has claimed lakhs of lives so far and is still affecting thousands every day. In this lethal battle, social distancing and vaccinations have been our greatest weapons against the virus. And while India's vaccination drive has been expanding gradually across the age groups for the COVID-19 vaccine, as per a recent update, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) has now reduced the gap between the first and second dose of the Covishield vaccine.

To note, so far as per the national COVID-19 vaccination strategy, the second dose of Covishield was suggested to be taken between 12-16 weeks of the first dose. However, with the new recommendation by NTAGI, the gap will be reduced to 8-16 weeks. "The latest recommendation of NTAGI is based on recent global scientific evidence derived from programmatic data. According to it, when the second dose of Covishield is given eight weeks onwards, the antibody response generated is almost similar when administered at an interval of 12 to 16 weeks," a source was quoted saying to PTI.

It is reported that the recommendation made by NTAGI is yet to be implemented in the national COVID-19 vaccination strategy. Meanwhile, the country's top body on immunisation hasn't shared any suggestion regarding Bharat Biotech's Covaxin which has a gap of 28 days between the first and second dose. Talking about the vaccination, the drive has expanded to the age group of 12-14 years from March 16.