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COVID-19 Vaccine: Covishield's first dose develops strong immunity than Covaxin's, says ICMR head

Covaxin is an indigenous vaccine being manufactured by Hyderabad-based biotechnology company, Bharat Biotech. Pune-based Serum Institute of India is manufacturing Covishield -- the local version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 Vaccine: Covishield's first dose develops strong immunity than Covaxin's, says ICMR head
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Days after the government decided to increase the interval between two doses of Covishield to 12-18 weeks, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) head Dr Balram Bhargava stated that immunity post the first shot was found to be quite strong.

Meanwhile, the four-week gap for Covaxin is unchanged as the immunity after the initial shot is not as high.

Explaining further, he said that making a three-month interval mandatory for Covishield will give the best results. On the other hand, immunity level after the first shot of Covaxin is not as high and this means the second dose should be taken after four weeks to ensure full efficacy, Dr Bhargava added.

Covaxin is an indigenous vaccine being manufactured by Hyderabad-based biotechnology company, Bharat Biotech. Pune-based Serum Institute of India is manufacturing Covishield -- the local version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

He also recommended that those who contracted coronavirus after the first dose should wait three months for the second dose of vaccination. This has been advised based on the assessment that those who recover from the disease have anti-bodies. Whereas the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid has also suggested that those who have recovered from COVID-19, should get the vaccine against coronavirus six months after the recovery.

This was the second time in three months Covishield dosage intervals have been widened. In March, states and UTs were told to increase the gap from 28 days to six to eight weeks "for better results".

Even though in clinical trials, the vaccine has been tested with only a gap of 28 days, widening of Covishield dosage intervals has been linked to increased efficacy.

However, the timing of these recommendations has sparked suggestions that the decision could be triggered by the vaccine shortage, rather than any scientific rationale. 

Meanwhile, the coronavirus vaccine developed by Russia, Sputnik V, has made its way to the Centre’s CoWIN app amidst a tie-up between Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, which is procuring the vaccine, and Apollo Hospitals, which will play a big role in administering the vaccines.  Apollo has set a price tag of ₹1,250 for a dose of Sputnik V which includes all other charges.

Also Read: US looks forward to joint production of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in India

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