A healthcare worker receives a dose of Covishield at a government-run hospital at Baruipur on the outskirts of Kolkata. (Image: Reuters)

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre whether the 84-day gap between two doses of COVISHIELD was based on availability of the vaccine or its efficacy.

The query to the central government came from Justice P B Suresh Kumar while hearing a plea by Kitex Garments Ltd seeking permission to administer the second dose of COVISHIELD vaccine to its workers.

The judge also said that if efficacy was the reason for the gap, then he was "worried" as he was administered the second dose within 4-6 weeks of the first dose.

The court said if availability was the reason for the gap, then those who are able to afford to buy it, like Kitex has, they should be allowed to take the second dose without waiting for 84 days as per the prevailing protocol.

The court further said if efficacy was the reason then the scientific data in support of it be also provided.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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84-day gap between two Covishield doses based on vaccine availability or efficacy: Kerala HC asks Centre

The query to the central government came from Justice P B Suresh Kumar while hearing a plea by Kitex Garments Ltd seeking permission to administer the second dose of COVISHIELD vaccine to its workers.

A healthcare worker receives a dose of Covishield at a government-run hospital at Baruipur on the outskirts of Kolkata. (Image: Reuters)

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