Covishield second dose gap: What is the ideal time duration between first & second dose?

In a tweet posted on March 23, 2021, Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change revealed that in the 20th meeting between the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and subsequently by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC), the organisations revealed that the time duration between the two doses could determine the Covishield efficacy greatly. Hence the government along with inputs from the scientific community has declared the Covishield second dose time. Find out What should be the Covishield second dose duration?

Covishield second dose gap

What should be the Covishield second dose duration?

In his tweet, Prakash Javadekar declared that it has been decided by the Union cabinet that the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine should be given within a month or two from the first dose for greater effectiveness. The NTAGI & NEGVAC too declared in their meeting that Covishield second dose duration must be either 4 weeks or 8 weeks at the most, from the time the first dose has been administered. It's recommended to download the covid vaccination certificate for officials to know your dates and location for the first dose of Covishield. However, it is important to note that this increased interval of time does not apply to Covaxin.

In an earlier statement, the central government had said that the two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine must be administered at the interval of 28 days. On www.seruminstitute.com, the company has revealed that “protective level of antibodies” were developed two weeks after receiving the second dose in most cases. Govt of India has granted emergency use authorisation to two COVID-19 vaccines — Pune-based Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd’s Covaxin. Both these vaccines are being used for GOI’s vaccination drive.

Javadekar also announced on Tuesday that starting April 1, all people above 45 years old will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. The Union Minister said, “It has been decided that from 1st April, the vaccine will open for everybody above 45 years of age. We request that all eligible should immediately register and get vaccinated,"

According to a report on the Union Health Ministry’s website, a total of 4.72 crores. COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the. On Monday, March 22, a total of 19,65,635 doses had been given. As India faces an alarming surge in fresh Covid cases, which was driven in part by the spread of the more contagious mutant strains, the Union Health Ministry urged people to stay calm and assured that there is no shortage of vaccine stocks.

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