The committee recommended that the vaccine time be reduced from nine months to six.
NTAGI’s Standing Technical Sub-Committee (STSC) on Thursday recommended reducing the gap between second and precautionary doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the current nine to six months, official sources said. He said the health ministry would soon take a final call on the recommendation.
The government advisory panel, which met on Thursday, also reviewed the findings of a study by the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore that allowed isolating a COVID vaccine to be used for primary vaccination as a precautionary measure. was given.
Panel members found a lack of uniformity in results when mixing jabs for booster shots and said no recommendations could be made for this at this time. The CMC study was on Covishield and Covaxin.
The threat of monkeypox and the need for vaccination were also discussed in the meeting of the National Technical Advisory Group (NTAGI) panel on vaccination, sources said.
One of the sources told PTI, “However, the members were of the view that strict monitoring is needed now. No case of monkeypox has been reported in the country so far.”
The panel also reviewed data on Covaxin and Corbevax vaccines for ages 6-12. “The members said that the data on COVID burden and mortality among children are not strong enough to take a decision on introducing immunization of children below 12 years of age,” the source said.
India’s drug regulator in April this year granted emergency use authorization for Biologics E’s COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax for people aged five to 12 years and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children aged six to 12 years was.
STSC members learned that they had also agreed to the administration of an additional third dose to kidney transplant patients prior to the precautionary dose.
“In today’s meeting, the members also agreed to reduce the gap between second and precautionary doses of COVID-19 vaccines to six months from the existing nine months based on scientific evidence and data,” the source told PTI.
Currently, everyone over the age of 18 who has completed nine months of taking the second dose is eligible for a precautionary dose. The central government last month allowed citizens and students traveling abroad to take shots before the nine-month waiting period prescribed as per the guidelines of the destination country.
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