'Infected should defer jabs by up to 9 months' | Economic Times

A government panel has recommended that those who have had Covid-19 infection wait for three to nine months after the recovery to get their vaccine shots. The recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) has been sent to the health ministry for approval. “We have recommended a vaccine ‘sparing strategy’ which includes a longer waiting period for the first dose for those who have tested Covid-19 positive,” said a senior government official.The longer time period increases the antibody response and hence it has been recommended that people who have been infected can get their vaccination done between three and nine months, added the official. 82719562At present, such people who have recovered are vaccinated 14 days after testing negative, said a senior government official. The government committee has also recommended to make pregnant and lactating women eligible for vaccination. The recommendations are likely to be approved soon.“The recommendations are based on scientific data. We are not following any other country blindly,” added the official. It has also recommended that people who have received plasma during their treatment wait for at least a period of 12 weeks before taking the vaccine.Last week, the government approved NTAGI’s recommendation that extended the interval between two doses of the Covishield vaccine to 12-16 weeks.This was the second time the Covishield dosage interval was extended. In March, the government decided to stretch the gap from four weeks to six-eight weeks citing better results. The decision to extend it further was taken taking into account real-life evidence from the UK, the health ministry said in a statement. Balram Bhargava, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, said that a lot of “scientific deliberation” had taken place. He said before the decision was made, discussions were also held with University of Oxford, which developed the vaccine with AstraZeneca. Niti Aayog member health VK Paul called it a “science-based” decision. “UK has done it for a period of time. A real-life experience of large numbers is available. There is confidence that if we increase it there will be no risk. This is a dynamic situation and the decision is a part of a periodical review,” he said.