Researchers at BHU have found in a study that a single dose of vaccine for those who have recovered from Covid-19 is enough.
A Covid-recovered patient should wait for three months to get vaccinated against the virus, says the present government guidelines. However, there is no clarity whether the patient should take both doses or a single jab would do? Now, researchers at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) have found in a study that single dose of vaccine for those who have recovered from Covid-19 is enough.
"We studied effect of vaccine on Covid recovered and non-infected people. Antibodies in recovered people developed in first week," Gyaneshwer Chaubey, Professor at BHU's Zoology Department told news agency ANI.
Chaubey said that he has written to PM Modi about the research findings that could help resolve the present vaccine shortage in the country.
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"While only 90% of non-infected people developed antibodies after 3-4 weeks. Recovered people developed antibodies after first dose. By giving single-dose to recovered people we can overcome vaccine shortage. We've also written a letter to PM in this regard," Chaubey said.
The BHU research has come amid reports that the government is mulling to tweak its vaccination strategy.
The government will review the impact of its recent decision to extend the Covishield doses' interval by collecting data from a Covid vaccine tracker platform that is yet to be launched, a report in The Indian Express said. The platform will be launched shortly through which the government will collect data related to people who are being inoculated as per the new schedule.
Sources said that the data may also help the government decide whether to approve a single-dose regimen for Covishield, the IE report said. Covishield is the local version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. It is being manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India. It is a two-dose vaccine and the government recently increased the gap between two doses to 12-16 weeks.
