Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Feb 16: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) today said COVID-19 vaccine is more effective when the second dose is given 12 weeks after the first shot.
In a statement issued here, DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan said that the longer interval between the doses give more protection.
“There is evidence that a longer interval between the first and second dose of Oxford vaccine provides a stronger immune response,” he said.
He said that a study published in Lancet has revealed that the vaccine efficacy was 82.4 per cent among those who received the second dose after 12 weeks, whereas the efficacy was only 54.9 per cent among those with an interval of fewer than 6 weeks.
“The first dose was 76 per cent effective from day 22 to 90 days post-vaccination and the protection did not wane during this initial three month period,” he said.
He said that delaying the second dose would allow more people to get the first dose sooner and would save more lives. “If enough people get vaccinated quickly, we will achieve the herd immunity sooner that would bring an end to the ongoing public health crisis.”
“While the longer interval between the doses is beneficial in terms of building a broader and long-lasting immune response, India continues to administer the second dose of Oxford vaccine – Covishield at 4-week interval,” he said.
“The study also showed that a single dose of the vaccine significantly reduced the transmission of the virus with a 67 per cent reduction in positive swabs among those vaccinated,” Dr Nisar said.
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