Why did the center widen the gap between the two doses of Covishield?

The second phase of corona vaccination is currently underway in the country.

The central government has made an important announcement on the Corona vaccine Covishield. The Center issued instructions to the states that now there should be a gap of 6 to 8 weeks between the first and second dose of Covishield. Till now the difference was 4 weeks (28 days). The Center says that this is being done following the advice of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization and the National Expert Group on Vaccine.

The second phase of corona vaccination is currently underway in the country. In the vaccination drive, Covishield of Serum Institute and Covaxin of Bharat Biotech are being given. But the Center has only instructed to increase the time difference between the first and second doses of Covishield.

Why was this done?

The Center said that scientific evidence shows that protection from the corona increases if a second dose of Covishield is applied after 6-8 weeks. The center said that the difference between the first and second doses should not be more than 8 weeks.

The Union Health Secretary has instructed all the states and union territories to ask their officials to take necessary steps in this regard. The Center instructed to increase the gap between the two doses to the people taking the vaccine, the vaccine and the program manager.

And vaccine ordered

On 21 March, the central government ordered Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech and 12 crore corona vaccine. Of these 100 million vaccines will be Covishield and the rest will be Covaxin.

The Corona vaccination drive in India started on 16 January. So far, more than 4 crore people have been vaccinated in the country. More than 75 lakh people have also taken the second dose after a gap of 4-6 weeks.