Allow Second Dose Of Covishield After Four Weeks For Those Who Want It: Kerala HC To Centre

The Court said, the Centre should give necessary direction in CoWIN portal for scheduling second dose of COVISHIELD after four weeks of taking the first dose.

A nurse carrying vials of Covishield doses | File Image

Chennai: The Kerala High Court directed the central government to permit scheduling of the second dose of the Covishield vaccine on the CoWIN portal after four weeks from taking the first dose of the vaccine.

Currently, one can register for the second dose of Covishield after a  gap of 84 days as suggested by the Centre.

The High Court gave the direction while hearing a plea by Kitex Garments Ltd seeking permission for administering the second dose of Covishield vaccine before 84 days to their workers. 

According to reports, the case came up for hearing before Justice PB Suresh Kumar who said that if state and union governments can permit vaccination for people travelling abroad to get COVID-19 vaccines earlier for better and early protection then there is no reason for not providing the same privilege to people in the country who want early protection due to their education or employment.

The High Court also said that the people should have the choice to take vaccines early even as per Union Health Ministry's policy and for the implementation of this scheme vaccines were already distributed on a payment basis through private hospitals.

The Court said, the Union government should give necessary direction in the CoWIN portal for scheduling the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine after four weeks of taking the first vaccine like in the initial protocol of the vaccination drive.

However, the Centre opposed the plea by stating that the 84-day gap was to increase the efficacy of the vaccine as recommended by the National Expert Group of Vaccine Administration and National Immunization Technical Advisory Group.

However, in the plea, Kitex said that the company inoculated 5,000 workers with the first vaccine dose and has arranged for a second dose of COVID-19 for a cost of Rs 93 lakh. However, the company could not administer the dosage due to the protocol in place.