Three month gap between Oxford vaccine jabs provides better efficacy

New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI):
A three-month interval between doses of the Oxford COVID-19 (made as covishield in India) vaccine results in higher vaccine efficacy than a six-week gap, according to a new study which says the first dose can offer up to 76 per cent protection in the months between the two jabs.
The results of the analysis from a phase 3 randomised controlled trial, published in The Lancet journal, suggest that the interval between doses can be safely extended to three months given the protection a single dose offers.
According to the researchers, including those from the University of Oxford in the UK, this dosage regimen is beneficial while vaccine supplies are initially limited, and may allow countries to immunise a larger proportion of the population more rapidly.
“Vaccine supply is likely to be limited, at least in the short term, and so policy-makers must decide how best to deliver doses to achieve the greatest public health benefit,” said study lead author Professor Andrew Pollard from the University of Oxford.