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Covishield Gap for Second Dose Increased to 12 to 16 Weeks, What About Scheduled Appointments, ask Citizens

Covishield gap for second dose for all citizens has been increased to 12 to 16 weeks the Government of India has just announced

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DQINDIA Online
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Covishield Gap

Covishiled gap for second dose has been increased from 12 to 16 weeks by the Ministry of Health Affairs. The decision has been taken after the COVID Working Group recommended the extension of the gap between the first and second dose of Covishield vaccine from 6 to 8 weeks to 12 to 16 weeks based on the available real-life evidence, particularly from the UK.

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The recommendation has been accepted by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. However, no change in interval has been announced for COVAXIN vaccine doses.

The COVID Working Group comprises of the following members:

  1. Dr N K Arora- Director, INCLEN Trust
  2. Dr Rakesh Agarwal, Director and dean, GIPMER, Puducherry
  3. Dr Gagandeep Kang, professor, Christian Medical College, Vellore
  4. Dr J P Mulliyal, Retd professor, Christian Medical College, Vellore
  5. Dr Naveen Khanna, Group Leader, International Centre For Genetic Engineering And Biotechnology  (ICGEB), JNU, New Delhi
  6. Dr Amulya Panda, Director, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi
  7. Dr V G Somani, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Government of India

Will Covishield Gap Increase Affect Current Appointments?

As soon as the announcement, several citizens who have scheduled their appointments after a period of 4 weeks are questioning on social media platforms if their appointments would be cancelled. While this decision is unlikely to affect second dose appointments that have already been booked, it is likely to come into play soon especially for the 18 plus age group. The CoWIn portal had only recently updated that the second dose of Covishield has to be taken after 45 days. An official word on the matter will be announced soon.

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