VCK leader and Villupuram Member of Parliament D. Ravikumar has urged Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to take steps and impress upon the Union government the need to reduce the present gap between the two doses of the Covishield vaccine.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Mr. Ravikumar said that the Union government had extended the gap between the first and second doses of the vaccine to 12-16 weeks. “The Centre’s decision was completely in contradiction with the recommendations of experts from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI). It has now come to light that the Union government had unilaterally taken the decision to increase the gap between the vaccines against the suggestions of the advisory body,” he said.
Mr. Ravikumar pointed out that the virus was mutating continuously and new variants emerging in the country were a cause for concern. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already declared that one of the three variants of B.1.617.2, first detected in India is a variant of concern now. The detection of the new Delta variant in the country has now worried healthcare experts, he said.
The MP said that experts have been emphasizing time and again that vaccination alone offered higher protection against infection. However, the Centre’s delay in disbursing vaccines to the States and increasing the dosing interval is unfortunate, he said.
The Chief Minister should impress upon the Centre to reduce the gap between the two doses of the vaccine as per the recommendations of the NTAGI, he added.
