Govt panel recommends 12-16 week gap between Covishield doses

The National Immunization Technical Advisory Group, the panel, said pregnant women can choose their vaccine and lactating women will be eligible for the vaccine anytime after delivery.

The panel advised people with Covid-19 illnesses should defer their vaccination till six months after recovering from the disease.

This is the second time in three months the gap between the doses of Covishield has been increased.

In March, the states and union territories were asked to increase the gap from 28 days to six-eight weeks for "better results".

However, no change has been recommended by the panel for the other vaccine available in India, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.

The recommendation came at a time India, which is known for its vaccine productions, is facing an acute shortage of vaccines in the face of a massive spike in Covid-19 cases.

Slamming the government over the repeated change in the intervals between the doses, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "First, it was 4 weeks for the 2nd dose, then 6-8 weeks and now we are told 12-16 weeks. Is this because there are not enough stocks of the vaccines for all who are eligible or because professional scientific advice says so? Can we expect some transparency from the Modi Govt?"