Opposition questions India gov't on doubling vaccine dosing gap

Genertec Universal Medical Co

16/06/2021 08:27

NEW DELHI, June 16 (Reuters) - India's main opposition
party, Congress, on Wednesday questioned the decision by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's government to double the gap between
the doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, asking whether it
was prompted by a vaccine shortage.
    On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the government had
increased the gap without the agreement of the scientific group
that it said recommended the move, citing three members of the
National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI)
advisory body.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2NX1TJ
    Congress leaders, including former party president Rahul
Gandhi, said the government was trying to cover up a vaccine
shortage.
    "India needs quick & complete vaccination," Gandhi said in a
tweet.
    The AstraZeneca shot accounts for nearly 90% of the 257.5
million vaccine doses administered in India, where some states
have curtailed vaccination programmes over supply constraints.
    The government said that the gap was increased based on
scientific evidence and that the issue had been discussed in
detail by members of NTAGI as well as its working group on
COVID-19.
    "We have a very open and transparent system where decisions
are taken on scientific basis," said N.K. Arora, chairman of the
working group, according to a government statement on Wednesday.
    Arora said that the decision to expand the gap to up to 16
weeks had been made to provide "flexibility" for those who may
not be able to get the second dose at 12 weeks.
    But NTAGI members told Reuters that the group had no data
concerning the effects of a gap beyond 12 weeks, and Arora also
did not cite such a study in Wednesday's statement from the
federal health ministry.
    India's health minister, Harsh Vardhan, said that India has
a robust mechanism to evaluate data, reiterating that the
decision to increase the gap was based on science.
    "It's unfortunate that such an important issue is being
politicised!" he said in a tweet.    

 (Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and
Gerry Doyle)
 ((Devjyot.Ghoshal@thomsonreuters.com; +91-11-49548102;))