No mixing of vaccines, or single dose of Covishield yet: Centre
New Delhi/IBNS: The Centre on Tuesday rejected claims that it could allow mixing of vaccines and reduce the Covishield vaccine schedule to a single shot, after unofficial sources informed media about the key pointers of such a plan, eliciting resistance from the medical community.
"Covishield will have two doses and there is no change and this schedule will remain... About mixing of vaccines, until scientifically proven, there is no question of mixing and won't be followed," Dr VK Paul, the government's top coronavirus adviser, said at a news briefing.
An NDTV report said that some government sources, requesting not to be named, informed that tests on mixing two Covid vaccines and studying effectiveness of a single shot of Covishield was going to start soon.
VK Paul, NITI Aayog member and the head of India's Covid task force, ruled out mixing of vaccines until in depth studies prove its effectiveness and efficacy.
Covishield, developed by Swedish pharma giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University and made by Serum Institute of India, and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin are the two main shots being used in India.
Russia's Sputnik is the third vaccine to be cleared for use. On Tuesday, a shipment of 56.6 MT Sputnik V vaccines, the biggest commercial consignment, arrived in Hyderabad.
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