India Shuns WHO's 8-12 Weeks Gap Rider, Starts Giving 2nd COVID Vaccine Shot: Here's Why

India is set to begin administration of the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today to the people who had received the first shot of Covaxin or Covishield vaccines 28 days (4 weeks) ago when the nationwide vaccination campaign had begun on 16 January, reports Hindustan Times.

The authorities will be sending automated SMS messages as well as using direct phone calls to make sure eligible recipients turn up for what will be a new logistical challenge for a campaign that is the most complex and voluminous than seen anywhere in the world.

AP

This despite an expert panel of the Word Health Organization has suggested an 8-12 week interval between two doses of the covid-19 vaccine developed by University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. The vaccine is also manufactured by Serum Institute of India under the brand Covishield.

Instead, the second vaccine shot is being administered only 4 weeks after the first shot was rolled out on 16 January 2021.

What WHO had said

¡°In light of the observation that two-dose efficacy and immunogenicity increase with a longer interdose interval, WHO recommends an interval of 8 to 12 weeks between the doses. If the second dose is inadvertently administered less than 4 weeks after the first, the dose does not need to be repeated," the WHO¡¯s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) had said on Wednesday.

AFP

The WHO group added that if administration of the second dose is inadvertently delayed beyond 12 weeks, it should be given at the earliest possible opportunity, and that another dose will not be required if the booster shot is given less than six weeks after the first despite the risk of lower efficacy.

The recommendation comes in the backdrop of the Indian regulator¡¯s directive that the two doses should be given only four to six weeks apart even though evidence from the clinical trials conducted by Oxford and AstraZeneca in the UK showed that the vaccine had only around 54% efficacy as compared to 79% if the gap is 12 weeks.

Agencies

What govt experts said

Government experts said recipients will not need to take their second doses exactly at the 28-day mark but a window of two weeks will be given ¨C which means the doses will need to be taken 4-6 weeks after the first were administered.

On January 16, over 202,000 people got the first doses. ¡°The second dose can be given any time between four to six weeks. That¡¯s the window period that we have,¡± said Dr VK Paul, member (health) of Niti Aayog, who took his first Covaxin dose on the launch day of January 16 and is likely to take the shot on Monday.

Reuters

¡°Though I am eligible to take the shot on February 13, I am most likely to take the second dose on Monday (February 15) as I am away,¡± he said.

The states have been given the flexibility to reschedule appointments in case a beneficiary is not able to make it on the stipulated date. ¡°An alternate date will be given to those who either are not available on the scheduled date assigned to them or miss the slot under certain circumstances,¡± said Paul.