Amid reports on review in reduction of the 84-day gap between Covishield doses, top expert NK Arora clarified there is no such plan right now.
Dr Arora who is the Chairman of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India (NTAGI) said that Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine or IAPSM recommended a reduction of the gap but it had been denied.
The current gap between two doses of the vaccine has been set at 12-16 weeks for all adults.
Dr Arora asserted that the decision was based on studies that the longer the gap, the more the antibodies and therefore, greater protection from Covid.
Narrowing of gap between the two doses for adults above 45 years was earlier suggested due to increase in availability of vaccine.
The NTAGI had earlier recommended a randomized trial of varying dosage intervals of Covishield and other vaccines and asked the Serum Institute of India (SII), the maker of the Oxford-AstraZeneca-developed vaccine, to study the effects of varying gaps between vaccines.