CoWIN Reconfigured To Show 12-16 Weeks Gap Between Covishield Doses, Adds Sputnik Info

Online or on-site appointments will not be possible if the period after the first dose date for a beneficiary is less than 84 days, while already booked appointments for the second dose will remain valid and are not being cancelled by CoWIN.

Image: PTI

New Delhi: On the vaccination front, CoWIN, the digital portal for registration and appointment, has now been reconfigured to reflect the extension of interval between two doses of Covishield to 12-16 weeks, the government said on Sunday.

The update around this change has been communicated to States and UTs.

 What did the government say?

It is now clear that beneficiaries can now book an appointment for the second dose only after 84 days from the initial dose. However, the appointments for the second dose will remain valid for those who have already pre-booked but has to be postponed to a later date.

"It is clarified that the requisite changes have now been done in the CoWIN digital portal. As a result, further online or on-site appointments will not be possible if the period after the first dose date for a beneficiary is less than 84 days. Additionally, already booked online appointments for the second dose of Covishield will remain valid and are not being cancelled by CoWIN. Further, the beneficiaries are advised to reschedule their appointments for a later date beyond the 84th day from the date of 1st dose vaccination," said the government.

Why the gap has been increased?

"The second dose of COVAXIN should be taken between 28 days to 42 days after the first dose. The second dose of COVISHIELD should be taken between 84 days to 112 days after the first dose. The second dose of SPUTNIK V should be taken between 21 days to 90 days after the first dose," reads a message on the CoWIN portal.

The Covid Working Group chaired by Dr NK Arora had recommended extension of the gap between the first and second doses of Covishield vaccine to 12-16 weeks. The same was accepted by the government on May 13.

The government has reiterated to the States and UTs that the online appointments booked for the second dose of Covishield prior to this change of the interval between the two doses of Covishield, must be honoured.

However, the health ministry has advised the States/UTs that the field staff may be instructed that, if such beneficiaries do come for vaccination, the second Covishield dose must be administered and they must not be turned away.

The states have been told to create awareness and inform beneficiaries about this change.

Meanwhile, CoWIN portal has now also added Sputnik's doses information.