MUMBAI: India has decided to stick to the 28-day gap between two pictures of Covidshield vaccine, but there is growing evidence that a longer gap – nearly three months – would be preferable. In a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, researchers from Oxford University (where Covishield was developed) said a three – month interval between the dose vaccination results in higher vaccine efficacy than a six-week interval.
The first dose of the vaccine offers 76% protection for up to three months, the study said. Many doctors in India, too, had the theory of “better antibody levels with a longer gap” raised by the government.
We believe that a gap of two months should be allowed between the two perspectives, ”said Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of the group. Maharashtra Covid action team. The other important message of the new Lancet study is that a longer gap would allow vaccinated countries to get a larger proportion of their population faster.
In a statement, the lead author of the study Andrew Pollard from Oxford University He said, “Where supplies are scarce, policies to vaccinate more people with a single single dose can provide greater population protection than half the dose of two-dose vaccines.”
The team also found that a single dose of vaccine is very effective in the first three months (76% effectiveness from 22 days after vaccination). “Antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein remained at similar levels for 3 months,” the Lancet study said.