NEW DELHI, June 1: The Union health ministry said on Tuesday that no change has been made to Covishield dose schedule, and the vaccine will continue to be administered in two doses 12 weeks apart. A similar two-dose routine will also be applicable to India-made Covaxin.
“There is absolutely no change in the schedule of Covishield doses; it will be two doses only. After the first Covishield dose is administered, the second dose will be given after 12 weeks. Covaxin also has two doses’ schedule, second dose to be administered in 4-6 weeks,” Dr Vinod K Paul, Niti Aayog member (health) said on Tuesday.
“News of Covishield being administered in one dose has been doing the rounds, this is absolutely not true. Please do not spread misinformation regarding this,” he added.
Reports of one-dose vaccination surfaced on Monday after the chairman of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), Dr NK Arora, told reporters that scientists will be looking into dosing intervals of vaccines to figure out if a single dose works better. Arora had also told reporters that a feasibility study would also be conducted in the country to judge the effects of mixing two different vaccines.
“We will be looking at the feasibility of testing a two dose Covid-19 vaccine regimen but with different vaccines, for which testing may start in a few weeks,” he added.
The health ministry on Tuesday confirmed that a study on mixing of different vaccines would indeed be conducted but it would strictly be an unresolved scientific question for now, and no vaccines will be mixed until robust data supports such an action.
“It’s a scientific curiosity and science will settle it until then there will be no mixing of vaccines,” Dr Paul said at the press briefing on Tuesday.
“There is research going on in other countries, this is a scientific topic. Until it’s sorted out we will call it an unresolved scientific question,” he added.
(Manas Dasgupta)