Gap between two doses of Covishield to be increased to 6-8 weeks, says Centre

The revised interval applies only to Serum Institute of India's Covishield and not to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, the Centre said in its letter.

The Centre on Monday said that the gap between the two doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford University's Covishield vaccine should be increased from 28 days to 6-8 weeks. The Centre has written a letter to states and Union Territories saying that the increase in gap between the first and the second dose of the vaccine should be administered in order to get better results.

The decision has been taken based on the recommendation of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC). The revised interval applies only to Serum Institute of India's Covishield and not to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, the Centre said in its letter.

The instruction by the Centre comes at a time when round two of nationwide vaccinations of people above 60 and those over 45 with other illnesses are being conducted, that is, the second dose of vaccine is being inoculated throughout the country. Covishield and Covaxin have been used in the vaccination drive that was rolled out on January 16. The Health Ministry had earlier said two doses of vaccine needed to be taken 28 days apart to complete the immunisation schedule. More than 4.50 crore vaccine doses have been administered across the country since January.