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.
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