NEW DELHI, May 19: In yet another new advisory to the Covid recovered patients, the centre on Wednesday recommended that vaccines can be taken three months after recovery.
The second dose of Covid vaccine should also be delayed by three months for anyone contracting the disease after the first dose. So far, there was no fixed gap for taking a vaccine in such situations. Individual physicians recommended a gap of two or four weeks depending on the condition of the patient.
The union health ministry said the patients who have been given anti-SARS-2 monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma should also defer vaccination by three months from the date of discharge from the hospital. This, while recommending COVID-19 vaccination for all lactating women.
The Ministry said it had accepted the recommendations of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC). “These recommendations have been based on the evolving situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and emerging global scientific evidence and experience,” it stated.
It recommended that individuals who have received at least the first dose of the vaccine and got the infection before the completion of the dosing schedule should also defer by three months the second dose after clinical recovery from COVID-19.
“Persons with any other serious general illness requiring hospitalization or ICU care should also wait for 4-8 weeks before getting the COVID-19 vaccine,’’ it noted. Also an individual could donate blood after 14 days of either receipt of COVID-19 vaccine or testing RT-PCR negative, if suffering from COVID-19.
It said there was no requirement for screening of the vaccine recipients by Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) prior to vaccination. The matter of vaccination of pregnant women was under discussion and further deliberation by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI).
“The Health Ministry has written to States and UTs to direct the concerned officials to take note of these recommendations and undertake necessary action for their effective implementation. States have also been advised to undertake training of the vaccination staff at all levels,’’ the ministry said.
A few days ago, Dr Randeep Guleria — chief of Delhi’s All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and a member of the Centre’s Covid task force — had held a press conference where he suggested a gap of four weeks in such cases.
The fresh rules are part of the recommendations by NEGVAC — the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 led by NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul — which have been accepted by the Union health ministry.
The changes come less than a week after the government expanded the gap between two doses of Covishield vaccine from six to eight to 12 to 16 weeks claiming that wider gap push up the efficacy of the vaccine.
Today’s decision is likely to impact lakhs of people who have contracted the disease. The country logged 2.67 lakh new cases today, taking the overall count to 2.54 crore and the number of active cases to 1,27,046.
The country also set a grim global record, logging the deaths of 4,529 Covid patients over the last 24 hours, breaching the highest daily deaths registered by the United States in January (4,475). But while the numbers of new cases have been on a downward movement over the last weeks, the positivity rate is not in the safe zone yet.
(Manas Dasgupta)