Coronavirus: Centre tells states to increase gap between two doses of Covishield vaccine to 6-8 weeks

The interval between two doses of Covishield vaccine should be increased to six-eight weeks, the Centre has said in a letter to state governments on March 22. At present, the two-dose vaccine is being administered four to six weeks apart. 

External Affairs Ministry sources said, "A consignment containing 20 lakh doses of Covishield vaccines will be reaching Dhaka and 1 million to Kathmandu on January 21."

The vaccine delivery is termed as a "gift from the people of India to the people of Bangladesh and Nepal".

Bangladesh

"It is also the fulfilment of the assurance given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina during the recent December 17 Virtual Summit, that India would facilitate the supply of vaccines as and when ready. It is a reflection of the strong, vibrant and friendly bilateral ties between the two countries," the sources said.

The Centre on Monday said that the gap between the first and second doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University's Covishield vaccine should be increased to 6-8 weeks from the current 28 days.

In a letter to states/UTs, the Centre said the decision has been taken since an increased gap between the two doses will lead to enhanced protection. Keeping the existing scientific evidence in view, it appears that the protection from coronavirus is enhanced if the second dose of Covishield is administered between 6-8 weeks, the government said.

However, it warned that the second dose of vaccine should not be administered after 8 weeks.

The decision was taken based on the recommendation of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC).

The decision has been conveyed to states and union territories through a letter written by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

"In view of the emerging scientific evidence, the interval between two doses of a specific COVID-19 vaccine ie Covishield, has been revisited by NTAGI and NEGVAC in its 20th meeting," the statement read. "This decision of revised time interval between two doses is applicable only to Covishield and not to Covaxin vaccine."

The union health secretary urged the states and union territories to instruct the officials to take necessary steps to widely disseminate the message of the revised dosing interval among vaccinators and recipients of Covishield.