Advisory to extend interval for second dose of vaccine to be implemented in UT

The implementation of a Central advisory to extend the interval for injecting the second dose of Covishield vaccines to between six to eight weeks of the first jab will cover a significant proportion of the vaccinated population.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021

Covishield is Serum Institute of India’s version of AZD1222, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in collaboration with the University of Oxford.

Some data from global trials of AZD122 suggests that extending the duration between doses to 12 weeks increased its efficacy much more.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare took the decision on the recommendation of two expert groups – the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC).

The groups, after looking into available scientific evidence from clinical trials of the vaccine, concluded that the protection that it provides against Covid-19 is “enhanced” if the second dose is administered between 6-8 weeks.