The Central Government has issued new guidelines regarding the COVID-19 vaccination. As per the new guidelines, the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine should be delayed by three months for anyone contracting the disease after the first dose.
The government further said if an individual is infected with coronavirus after the first dose, the second dose should be deferred by three months after recovering from the infection.
There will be no requirement for screening of vaccine recipients by a Rapid Antigen Test kit prior to vaccination against COVID-19, it further said.
So far, there was no fixed gap for taking a vaccine in such situations. New rules also suggest that if someone had contracted the COVID-19 virus, the vaccination should be taken three months after recovery and not earlier than that.
The fresh rules are part of the recommendations by NEGVAC, the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 led by NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul has been accepted by the Union health ministry.
The new expert group has also recommended vaccination for lactating women.
The changes come less than a week after the government expanded the gap between two doses of the Covishield vaccine from six to eight weeks to 12 to 16 weeks, saying it pushed up the efficacy of the vaccine.
Anyone suffering from any other disease or undergoing ICU treatment is also advised to take the COVID-19 vaccine after 4-8 weeks of recovery.
It is also recommended to donate blood only after 14 days of taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
So far, over 18.57 crore doses of vaccines have been administered against the coronavirus since the beginning of the drive started in January this year.
