Serum Institute's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin have been cleared by the drug regulator. (File)
Ahead of the launch of Covid vaccination on Saturday, the Centre has circulated a factsheet with information on the two vaccines -- Covishield and Covaxin. Around 30 crore people will be vaccinated in the next few months during the nationwide drive.
The factsheet, in a letter sent by Dr Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary of Health Ministry, includes specific guidelines on who should and should not get the COVID-19 vaccine -- contraindications (due to which the vaccine is to be withheld to certain categories) and adverse events that may happen after vaccination.
Both vaccines cleared by the country's drug regulator -- Serum Institute's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin -- are two-dose vaccines which have to be administered at a 28-day gap.
Vaccination factsheet:
- Only those who are above the age of 18 years will be eligible to take the vaccine, says the letter sent by Health Ministry to all the states/union territories.
- If required, COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines should be separated by an interval of at least 14 days, the ministry said.
Vaccine can't be administered to people who belong to these categories:
- People with a history of an allergic reaction to a previous dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
- People who show an immediate or delayed onset of an allergic reaction to vaccines or injectable therapies, pharmaceutical products, and food items.
- Women who are pregnant or not sure of their pregnancy and lactating mothers should not receive the vaccine, the advisory says.
- There is also a strict protocol for people who contracted the virus -- Vaccination will have to be deferred for four to eight weeks after recovery of patients with active Covid symptoms, those who have been given plasma therapy, and those who are unwell and hospitalised for any other reason.
People who can get vaccine shots:
- A person with a past history of SARS-CoV2 (virus that causes Covid) infection or RT-PCR positive illness can get a vaccine.
- People with history of chronic diseases and comorbidities (cardiac, neurological, pulmonary, metabolic, renal, malignancies) should also get vaccinated.
- People with immuno-deficiency, HIV, patients on immunosuppression due to any condition are eligible for vaccination. However, response to the Covid vaccine may be less in these individuals, the advisory said.
Special precautions:
- Vaccine should be administered with caution in persons with a history of any bleeding or coagulation disorder, for example, clotting factor deficiency, coagulopathy or platelet disorder.
- The centre also warns against interchangeability of vaccine. The second dose of the vaccine should also be of the one that was administered as first dose.