COVID-19 vaccine | Dr Fauci says extending Covishield dose gap a 'reasonable approach'

Dr Fauci, who is the Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is also the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden.

The Indian government's move to extend the gap between doses of the Covishield coornavirus vaccine is a "reasonable approach", White House chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci has said.

"When you are in a very difficult situation, the way you are in India, you have to try and figure out ways to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as you can, so I believe that it is a reasonable approach to do," Fauci told news agency ANI.

The Centre on May 13 extended the interval between two doses of Covishield, the local name for the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine, to 12-16 weeks from the current gap of six-eight weeks.

Fauci told ANI that extending the gap would improve the vaccine's efficacy, adding that he didn't view it as a cover-up for the shortage of doses.

"The fact that you delay it that long, it is very unlikely that it would have a negative effect on the efficacy of the vaccine. I would not refer to it as a cover-up when you don't have enough vaccines," he said.

Several states have been forced to rework their vaccination plans as the country faces a shortfall in jabs. The ferocity of the second wave has also seen more people shun vaccine hesitancy. Many states have put on hold the vaccination of 18-44 age group that started on May 1, prioritising the second dose for frontline workers and  those aged above 45.

Fauci also commented on Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, which has been given Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) in India.

"I've heard about the Sputnik, is that, it seems to be quite efficacious, at a high level of close to 90 percent or so," he said.

Dr VK Paul, chairman of the National Expert Committee on Vaccine Administration, said on May 13 that Sputnik V would likely to be available in the market from next week.