MUMBAI: India decided to stay at the 28-day difference between two shots Covidshield vaccine, but there is growing evidence that a larger gap – almost three months – would be better. In a study published in the medical journal, The Lancet, researchers at Oxford University (where Covishield was developed) said an interval of three months between doses the vaccine results in a higher efficacy of the vaccine, rather than a six-week interval.
The first dose of vaccine provides 76% protection for up to three months, the study said. Many doctors in India have also raised the theory of “better levels of antibodies with larger gaps” in government.
We believe that there should be a two-month gap between the two photos, “said Dr. Shashank Joshi, who is a member of the Maharashtra Covid working group. The other important message of the new Lancet study is that a bigger gap would allow countries to vaccinate a larger proportion of their population faster.
In a statement, the study’s lead author, Andrew Pollard, from University of Oxford “Where there is a limited supply, initial single-dose vaccination policies may provide greater immediate protection of the population than vaccination of half of the two-dose population.”
The team also found that a single dose of vaccine is extremely effective in the first three months (76% efficacy in 22 days after vaccination). Antibody levels against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein remained at similar levels for 3 months, the Lancet study said.