Two Doses of Covaxin a Must, Even for Covid-Cured People, to be Called Fully Vaccinated, Says Centre

For being considered as a fully vaccinated individual, Two doses of Covid vaccine- Covaxin is a must, even after recovering from Covid-19, a Union health ministry official said on Saturday.

A recent study of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) stated that a single dose of Covaxin may be enough to protect those who have recovered from the Covid-19 infection from contracting it again, unlike non-infected people who must take two doses to be fully protected, The Times of India (TOI) report states.

The study found that those infected with Covid-19 and who took one dose of Covaxin showed similar immune responses as those participants who were never infected by Covid-19 infection and had received both doses of the vaccine. It was published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research.

However, authorities clarified that as of now, there is no change in the vaccination dosage and no communication has been issued regarding it.

The officer told TOI that as per the prescribed format, two doses must be taken for full vaccination post-Covid infection and since there is no change in the protocol, there will not be any change in the Co-WIN app.

The officials also stated that both vaccine doses would be ideal even for previously infected individuals for full vaccination. Senior epidemiologist of ICMR, Dr Samiran Panda, told TOI that full vaccination requires two doses, and this should be followed.

The ICMR conducted a study named- ‘Antibody responses to the BBV152 vaccine in individuals previously infected with SARS-CoV-2: A pilot study, on 114 healthcare professionals and frontline workers, who took Covaxin shots between February and May 2021.

The study also stated that as per the preliminary data, a single dose of BBV152-induced humoral immunity in previously infected individuals was equivalent to two doses of the vaccine in infection-naïve (non-infected) individuals.

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