National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) to extend the gap between two doses of Covishield.

The recommendations of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) to extend the gap between two doses of Covishield and a wait of at least six months for individuals who have just recovered from Covid-19, could help carry out vaccine administration effectively, provide breathing space to the State government for improving vaccine supply and has the potential to improve vaccine efficacy.

The NTAGI recommendations are in line with the vaccine advisories of World Health Organisation (WHO), European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other European countries who are already implementing a gap of 12 weeks to 16 weeks for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

The dosing gap of 12 weeks more for Covishield could also provide better protection for individuals, as a study by Oxford researchers, published in British Medical Journal (BMJ) has indicated that vaccine efficacy improved up to 82.4 per cent. The gap would also enable health authorities to protect more people by administering first dose of the vaccine.

"The study has found that the vaccine efficacy reached 82.4 per cent with a dosing interval of 12 weeks or more. If the two doses were given less than six-week apart, efficacy was only 54.9 per cent," the BMJ article while referring to the study in February, 2021.