The National Immunization Technical Advisory Group said pregnant women can choose their vaccine and lactating women will also be eligible for vaccine.
The National Immunization Technical Advisory Group has suggested that the gap between two doses of the Covishield vaccine can be increased to 12-16 weeks. However, the government panel did not recommend any changes in dosage interval for Covaxin, the second of two vaccines in use in India.
The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's indigenously developed Covaxin and Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield are currently being used in India's inoculation drive against the COVID-19 virus.
The National Immunization Technical Advisory Group has also said that pregnant women can choose their vaccine and that lactating women will be eligible any time after delivery. Currently, neither group is eligible to get the shots.
The government panel also advised those with other serious illnesses and in ICU care to wait for four to eight weeks. Those who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are waiting to take the vaccine should defer vaccination for six months after recovery, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) recommended.
"This increases the antibody response and hence it was recommended that people who have got COVID-19 can get vaccination after 6 months. At present they are vaccinated after 14 days of testing COVID-19 negative," said a senior government official.
The experts have also suggested that people who have received plasma during their treatment should get vaccinated at least after 12 weeks.
These recommendations will now be sent to the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration (NEGVA) for approval before the changes and suggestions are implemented.
This is the second time in three months that the Covishield dosage intervals have been changed. In March this year states and union territories were told to increase the gap for dosage from 28 days to six to eight weeks for better results.
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