Opposition questions India gov't on doubling vaccine dosing gap (updated)

Genertec Universal Medical Co

16/06/2021 11:00

(Updates with details of government statement)
    NEW DELHI, June 16 (Reuters) - India's opposition Congress
party on Wednesday questioned the decision by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's government to double the gap between doses of
the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, asking whether it was prompted
by a vaccine shortage.
    On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the government increased
the gap last month 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
    In multiple statements on Wednesday, the government said the
gap was increased based on scientific evidence after thorough
discussions among members of NTAGI as well as its working group
on COVID-19 in two meetings held in May.
    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  AZN.L  shot, made domestically and branded
COVISHIELD, accounts for nearly 90% of the 259 million vaccine
doses administered in India, where some states have curtailed
vaccination programmes over supply constraints.
    The government said the NTAGI's working group on May 10
initially recommended increasing the dosing interval to 12-16
weeks, a proposal that was subsequently taken up by a larger
NTAGI committee on May 13.
    The committee advised that "as per the COVID-19 working
group recommendation, a dosing interval of a minimum three
months between two doses of COVISHIELD vaccine was recommended",
the government said in a statement.
    "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 second government statement on
Wednesday.
    J.P. Muliyil, a member of the COVID working group, had told
Reuters on Tuesday there had been discussions within the NTAGI
on increasing the vaccine dosage interval but that the body had
not specifically recommended 12-16 weeks.
    NTAGI members had 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.
    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.
    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 and Krishna N. Das; Editing by
Sanjeev Miglani, Gerry Doyle and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
 ((Devjyot.Ghoshal@thomsonreuters.com ; +91-11-49548102))