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Updated June 19th, 2021 at 12:16 IST

COVISHIELD trial chief investigator backs India's 12-16 weeks gap between vaccine jabs

"Immunization policy that aims to vaccinate largest number of people, quickest possible time with at least one dose makes sense in India": Oxford Vaccine Group

Reported by: Srishti Jha
Covishield
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Affirming 12-16 weeks gaps between the two doses of COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine in India, the chief investigator of the AstraZeneca vaccine clinical trials on June 18 said that the level of immunity and protection provided by the first single dose of the preventive significantly increases in the second and third months after the jab. The affirmation on COVISHIELD surfaced amid neverending speculation and varied opinions of vaccine efficacy and distinct approaches in relation to the duration between vaccine doses.

AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company behind the AZD1222 COVID-19 vaccine is under the brand name COVISHIELD in India. It has now cemented the practice of maintaining a 12-16 weeks gap between first dose of the vaccine and the second after the Health Ministry decided to extend the gap between its doses from six to eight weeks to the aforementioned duration.

Professor Andrew Pollard stated that the primary goal of the immunisation drive in India should be to ensure at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for the largest crowd at the earliest with regards to undulating COVID-19 figures in the country at present.

AstraZeneca doesn't work on single-dose COVID-19 vaccine

In an interview with a media house, he clarified that vaccination policy in Britain and India could not be compared because of the different circumstances in the two countries. The scientist marked that because a majority of the Indian population is unvaccinated, at least one dose of COVISHIELD should be administered to the largest number of people as soon as possible. 

“An immunization policy that aims to vaccinate the largest number of people in the quickest possible time with at least one dose makes sense in the present circumstances in India,” Pollard said.

Pollard who is the Director of the Oxford vaccine group clarified COVISHIELD is not a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine as both doses are essential in boosting protection against the virus. He said that in view of shortages, understandably so, better measures be imposed for a larger group instead of smaller groups. 

It is pertinent to note that the UK had reduced this gap between two vaccine doses only after a large part of its population was inoculated against COVID-19 infection. 

Gap between two shots matters- if second jab delayed, first takes longer to work 

According to Pollard, the first vaccine jab produces antibodies while the second shot is a booster jab. If the second shot is delayed, the first received dose receives more time to work. He also stated that his team was not planning to work on a booster or a third jab as it may not be "necessary".

He brought to light an important factor that India needed to vaccinate a larger lot of people amid unprotected times owing to the Delta COVID-19 variant which was first identified in the country itself. Pursuant to this, he said the variant is a "widely spreading and increasing threat".

“One should not be deterred or deflected by the fact that one dose provides only 30 percent protection against symptomatic illness,” the scientist said, adding symptomatic illness usually means nothing more than a cold, cough, and fever, is taken care of as a flu by most people.

Meanwhile, India has vaccinated more than 27 crore vaccine doses till now, the Union ministry of health and family welfare said on Friday. Nearly 30 lakh vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm on June 18, while more than 5.2 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the 18-44 age group so far.

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Published June 19th, 2021 at 12:16 IST

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