- Sunday, February 23, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Shubham Ghosh
INDIA’S main Opposition party Congress on Wednesday (16) slammed the Narendra Modi government over its decision to double the gap between the doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, asking whether the move was made keeping in view the vaccine’s shortage.
Reuters on Tuesday (15) reported that the government raised the gap without agreeing with the scientific group that it said recommended the move, citing three members of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), an advisory body.
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Congress leaders, including former president Rahul Gandhi, said the government was trying to hide vaccine shortage. In a tweet on Wednesday, Rahul said: “India needs quick & complete vaccination- not BJP’s usual brand of lies & rhyming slogans to cover-up vaccine shortage caused by Modi Govt’s inaction.”
He also said the government was trying to save the image of Prime Minister Modi and the efforts are only facilitating the virus and costing people’s lives. The Bharatiya Janata Party government faced a backlash after the second wave of the coronavirus vaccine wreaked havoc in India and many died because of lack of oxygen cylinders and hospital beds.
The AstraZeneca shot accounts for almost 90 percent of the 260 million vaccine doses that have been administered so far in India. Some states in the country have seen their vaccination programmes getting hit because of inadequate supply.
According to the government, the gap between the two doses was increased based on scientific evidence and the issue had been discussed in detail by members of NTAGI and its working group on the Covid-19 pandemic.
NK Arora, chairman of India’s Covid-19 Working Group of NTAGI, said India has a very open and transparent system where decisions are taken on scientific basis, according to a government statement issued Wednesday. He said the decision to expand the gap to up to 16 weeks had been taken to provide “flexibility” for those who may not be able to get the second dose after 12 weeks.
NTAGI members, however, told Reuters that the group had no idea over effects of a gap that went beyond 12 weeks and Arora did not cite any such study in Wednesday’s statement from India’s health ministry. Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday tweeted that the country has a robust mechanism to evaluate data and the decision to increase the gap between administering two doses of the vaccine has been taken scientifically. He said that it was unfortunate that the issue was being politicized.
