To consider himself a fully vaccinated person, a Union Ministry of Health official announced Saturday that two doses of covid vaccine – Covaxin is a must even after he recovers from the Covid 19.
The Times of China (TOI) report states that, unlike non-infectants who have taken two doses to be fully protected, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently found that only one dose of Covaxin could be enough to protect those who recovered from Covid-19 infection from contracting it again.
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.
