The Centre is considering reducing the gap between two Covishield doses again. Months after getting public outrage for increasing the interval.
This new change will most likely affect people over the age of 45.
When the increase in the dose interval was first announced, it was highly criticized and branded as a hoax to hide a vaccination scarcity.
The lack of a clear scientific goal for doing so just added to the rage.
Now that vaccine supply and demand seem to have stabilized, the National Technical Advisory Group on Vaccination in India (NTAGI) will meet in the next week to finalize the interval.
“We have gathered data on the impact of vaccines and their dosage interval on different age groups and from different regions,” said NTAGI chairperson Dr. N K Arora. “In two to four weeks, we may decide on reducing dosage interval of Covishield, especially for those above 45 years and elderly based on final scientific evidence”.
After the NTAGI has reviewed all relevant scientific facts, a decision will be taken. Currently, all eligible people were given two doses of the Covishield vaccination. The booster dose was delayed by 12-16 weeks.
Even a single dose of Covishield is effective against Covid-19.
India first followed a one-month gap, which was later extended to four to eight weeks. The time between visits was later increased to 12-14 weeks.
In Parliament, the Union Health Minister claimed that monthly vaccination production would be increased. Covishield’s monthly production is expected to increase from ‘110 million doses per month by year’s end to more than 120 million.
The Center has announced that it will not be able to reach its goal of administering 2.16 billion vaccination doses by the end of the year.
At this time, the projection has been lowered to 1.35 billion doses.
The goal of fully vaccinating all people by December 31, 2021, has not changed, according to the Center.
