Covishield To Be Continued As Two-Dose Vaccine Says VK Paul, NITI Aayog

Covishield will not be changed to a single-shot schedule & "there is no question" of mixing vaccines till scientifically proven, the government said on June 1. This comes after key pointers of its plans floated unofficially to the media ran into resistance from sections of the medical community. These clarifications come amid concerns triggered by some recent comments made by senior officials indicating that the government may consider doing away with the second dose of Covishield. They said a study on mixing two different vaccines will start in a month & will likely be completed in two to two and a half months, reported NDTV. The low-key announcements divided opinion on public forums where many suggested the measures were aimed more at mitigating the vaccine shortage widely blamed on the Centre’s move to not order enough doses in due time last year. VK Paul, NITI Aayog member & the head of India's Covid-19 task force, had said in-depth research was needed to check whether mixing vaccines is effective.