Bhubaneswar: Odisha Health & Family Welfare Department on Wednesday asked all district and municipal heads to ensure adherence to the revised interval between two doses of COVISHIELD vaccine as per the recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC).
Additional Chief Secretary of the department, PK Mohapatra, in a letter to all Collectors, Municipal Commissioners and CDM&PHOs stated that the NTAGI and NEGVAC have recommended to provide 2nd dose of COVISHIELD at 4-8 weeks’ interval after the 1st dose instead of earlier practiced interval of 4-6 weeks based on emerging scientific evidence.
Based on the recommendations of NTAGI and NEGVAC, the Health Ministry has advised to ensure the 2nd dose of COVISHIELD vaccination to beneficiaries within the stipulated time interval of 4-8 weeks after the 1st dose. The Ministry has also communicated that protection is enhanced if the second dose COVISHIELD is administered between 6-8 weeks, but not later than the stipulated period of 8 weeks, said Mohapatra.
It has to be noted that the revised time interval between two doses is applicable only to COVISHIELD and NOT to COVAXIN Vaccine. It is also informed that henceforth, COWIN will not automatically schedule appointments for the 2nd dose and the revised interval between doses of COVISHIELD has to be informed to the beneficiary, who will decide the date of the 2nd visit within the stipulated time frame, he added.
In view of this, he requested the district and municipal heads to take necessary steps to widely disseminate the message of revised dosing interval amongst all Programme Managers, Vaccination Team and recipients of COVISHIELD vaccine and also ensure adherence of revised dosing interval in their jurisdiction.