Why India's vaccine advisory body recommends reducing second-dose gap for Covishield

The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has recommended that the gap between the first and second dose of Covishield should be reduced to eight to 16 weeks, from the current gap of 12 to 16.

NTAGI provides guidance and advice to the Union health ministry on immunisation services for the effective control of vaccine-preventable diseases in the country.

The government had on 13 May, 2021, extended the gap between the first and second doses of the Covishield vaccine from 6-8 weeks to 12-16 weeks based on the recommendations by NTAGI.

NTAGI has not yet suggested any change in the schedule of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, whose second dose is administered 28 days after the first dose.

The recommendation for Covishield is yet to be implemented in the national COVID-19 vaccination programme.

A year since it suggested extending the gap, why has NTAGI recommended reducing the gap between the first and the second dose of Covishielf, let’s examine here:

Why reduce the gap for second dose of Covishield

According to a report by the Press Trust of India, the latest recommendation of NTAGI is based on recent “global scientific evidence derived from programmatic data”.

The data suggests that when the second dose of Covishielf is given eight weeks after the first dose, it generates a similar antibody response when administered at an interval of 12 to 16 weeks.

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The reduced gap will lead to accelerated administration of the second dose of Covishielf to the remaining six to seven crore individuals.

In the last few weeks, there has been a downward trend in new Covid-19 cases in India.

The active cases in the country currently stand at 26,240. India’s recovery rate stands at 98.74 per cent.

The Serum Institute of India (SII), the company producing Covishield, last month asked Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya to reduce the gap between the second Covid dose and the third precautionary dose to three months.

While Covid cases are increasing across the world, countries are debating the advantage of a fourth dose following a booster dose, however, it may not prevent re-infections, according to a report by The Hindu, which quotes Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, vice chairman, research cell, Indian Medical Association, Kerala.

“Studies have indicated that COVID re-infections cannot be solved by simply adding more and more systemic doses of vaccine. It is obvious that if sufficient aerosol exposure occurs, infection can occur - regardless of number of doses received. Masks - especially indoors - will reduce this risk. We don’t have an effective mucosal vaccine yet. That’s also why basic public health measures continue to be important,’’ he said.
India’s vaccination coverage

According to the Union health ministry, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 181.21 as on Sunday.

COVID-19 vaccination for the age group 12-14 years was started on March 16, 2022. So far, more than 17 lakh adolescents have been administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, said the ministry.

According to a Reuters report, India is considering making all adults eligible for booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine, as infections grow in some countries.

Only frontline workers and those older than 60 are allowed to take booster doses in India as of now.
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With inputs from agencies_

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