Longer wait triggers second dose anxiety, doctors say follow science

Gurgaon: Chander Mohan Khurana has emerged from an episode of Covid but he is confused about the status of his immunity to the novel coronavirus, and that’s making the 72-year-old anxious.
Khurana, a DLF-1 resident, tested positive for Covid after taking his first Covishield shot. At that time, the recommended interval for the second dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine was 6-8 weeks. Last week, this was increased to a minimum of 12 weeks by the government. In the latest guideline, the health ministry has also recommended that recovered Covid patients should wait three months from the clinical date of testing negative for the second vaccine dose.
Khurana’s worry is on two counts — what his risks of another infection are while he waits for the second shot, which he was originally supposed to get in April but ought to now take only in August, and whether appointments will be available when the date comes, considering the shortage of vaccines and the rush that’s likely to continue.
“It was on March 10 that my wife and I took the first dose of Covishield. However, both of us tested positive on April 16 and we recovered on May 6. My doctor told me we could take the second shot on June 6. In the meantime, new guidelines were issued and we now have to wait for another three months from the date we recovered. This means, we cannot take the second dose before August,” said Khurana.
“Our immunity is weak, which makes us more vulnerable. What if we get re-infected by the time we take the second jab? Moreover, we are not sure if we will even get the vaccine on time,” he added.
Concerns similar to Khurana’s are there among younger people too, who are calling up their physicians with questions on antibodies, immunity and vaccine efficacy. Amitabh Singh (44) of Ardee City, who got inoculated in early April, contracted Covid two weeks later. He recovered in two weeks. Singh said he isn’t sure why the gap was widened. “Besides, doctors have told me I can wait six months for the second dose, but my apprehension is whether the vaccine would be available at all at that time,” said Singh.
Doctors have been busy dismissing anxieties on the interval between two vaccine doses. to Dr Piyush Goel, senior consultant (pulmonary and critical care) at Columbia Asia Hospital in Palam Vihar, agreed there were concerns about the long gap among patients, especially the elderly. “I tell my patients that after recovery, antibodies remain in the body for three to six months. First, you were exposed to the dead virus by getting the first dose of the vaccine and then to the live virus by contracting Covid, which means your antibodies are in the higher range. The guidelines are correct in view of the limited supply of vaccines. It is just anxiety among patients. Scientific evidence says it is safe to wait three to six months after recovering from Covid. I tell my patients there is no need to worry since their recovery itself substantiates the fact that their antibody response is good,” Dr Goel said.
Dr Seema Dhir, senior consultant (internal medicine) at Artemis Hospital, said, “Anybody who has Covid tends to develop antibodies. The person is most likely to be protected for some time. So, it is alright that their second dose gets deferred by three months.”