Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday directed the district collectors and Municipal commissioners to take necessary steps to widely disseminate the message of the revised interval of the Covishield vaccine in their respective jurisdictions at the earliest.
In a letter, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Pradipta Mohapatra said the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and NEGVAC (National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19) have recommended the revised schedule to provide second dose of Covishield vaccine at 4-8 weeks interval after the first dose instead of earlier practiced interval of 4-6 weeks based on emerging scientific evidence.
Based on the recommendations of NTAGI and NEGVAC, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has advised to ensure second dose of Covishield vaccination to the beneficiaries within stipulated time interval of 4-8 weeks after the first dose. Besides, the Ministry has also communicated that protection is enhanced if the second dose Covishield is administered between 6 to 8 weeks but not later than the stipulated period of 8 weeks, Mohapatra said.
Maintaining that as COWIN will not automatically schedule appointments for the second dose, he said the revised interval between doses of Covishield has to be immediately informed to the beneficiary, who will decide the date of their second visit within the stipulated time frame.
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