New Delhi: A government panel has recommended increasing the gap between two doses of Covishield vaccine to 12-16 weeks, sources said. Currently, the interval between two doses of Covishield is four to eight weeks.
The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) suggested that people who have recovered from COVID-19 should wait for at least six months before getting vaccinated.
The NTAGI stated that those having laboratory test proven SARS-CoV-2 illness should defer COVID-19 vaccination for six months after recovery, the sources said.
The government panel 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 in dosage interval for Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin has been suggested by the panel.
The recommendations of the NTAGI will be sent to the National Expert Group on Vaccine Adminstration for COVID-19.
Covishield, the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, is being manufactured in India by Adar Poonawala’s Serum Institute of India (SII).