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MUMBAI: India decided to stay away for 28 days between two shots Covidshield vaccine, but it is increasingly clear that a longer timeframe – almost three months – would be preferable. In a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, researchers from Oxford University (where Covishield was developed) stated a three month interval between doses of the vaccine results in higher vaccine efficacy rather than a six week interval.
The first dose of the vaccine offers 76% protection for up to three months, according to the study. Many doctors in India had also raised the theory of “better antibody levels with a longer gap” with the government.
We believe that there should be an interval of two months between the two shots, ”said Dr Shashank Joshi, member of the Maharashtra Covid Working Group. The other important message from the new Lancet study is that a longer gap would allow countries to immunize a larger proportion of their population faster.
In a statement, study lead author Andrew Pollard of the Oxford University said, “Where supply is limited, policies of initially vaccinating more people with a single dose may provide greater immediate protection for the population than immunizing half the number of people with two doses.”
The team also found that a single dose of the vaccine is very effective during the first three months (76% effectiveness from 22 days after vaccination). “The antibody levels against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein remained at similar levels for 3 months,” the Lancet study said.
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