New Delhi: A government panel has recommended increasing the gap between two doses of Covishield COVID-19 vaccine to 12-16 weeks, official sources said on Thursday. It has also suggested that pregnant women may be offered the choice to take any COVID-19 vaccine and that lactating women can be inoculated any time after delivery.
No change has been suggested for the dosage interval of Covaxin by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), adding that those having laboratory test proven SARS-CoV-2 illness should defer COVID-19 vaccination for six months after recovery, the sources said.
According to the current protocol, the vaccine must be taken four to eight weeks after recovery from COVID-19 infection.
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"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 the interval of Covaxin vaccine doses was recommended," the sources said.
Currently, the recommended interval between two doses of Covishield is four to eight weeks. The recommendations come amid several states reporting a shortage of vaccines.
Several states and UTs including Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana have decided to opt for global tenders for procurement of anti-coronavirus shots with the domestic supply falling short to meet the rising demand.
The recommendations of the NTAGI, which came after a recent meeting of the panel, will be sent to the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC).
The panel also rejected the proposal for routinely screening all vaccine recipients with rapid antigen testing prior to COVID vaccination.
