There is a huge shortage of corona vaccine in the country. Those who have taken first dose of vaccine are waiting for the second shot.
As a result, the government had earlier asked to take second dose of the Covishield vaccine after 45 days of first. Centre had issued orders after a comprehensive study. Under this, the second dose of Covishield will be given after 45-60 days, instead of 28-45 days.
Now this gap is likely to be extended even further. This interval is expected to increase by 12 to 16 weeks.
The recommendations made by the panel have been accepted by the government. "When you are in a very difficult situation, the way you are in India, you have to try and figure out ways to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as you can, so I believe that it is a reasonable approach to do," Dr Anthony Fauci, the Biden administration's top medical adviser said.
This is for the second time in three months that Covishield dosage intervals have been widened and this move has once again garnered criticism, as a cover-up for not having enough vaccines for the people in India. However, Dr Fauci said that this "extended interval" is beneficial even from the efficacy standpoint.
"The fact that you delay it that long, it is very unlikely that it would have a negative effect on the efficacy of the vaccine. I would not refer to it as a cover up when you don't have enough vaccines," Dr Fauci told ANI.
Fauci, futher said that it is imperative for India to collaborate with other countries, and companies to ramp up its vaccine production capability to vaccinate country's huge population against COVID-19.
On Thursday, the Government of India announced that the gap between the first and second doses of the Covishield COVID-19 vaccine has been increased to 12-16 weeks - from the existing 6-8 weeks. Importantly, the duration of the second dose of Bharat Biotech's covaxin has been kept the same. For Covaxin, a second dose will be given after the 28th day.