Serum Institute's Chairman Cyrus Poonawalla Bats For Booster Dose Of Covishield After Six Months

Pune-based vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII)'s chairman Cyrus Poonawalla has come out advocating for a third booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, reports Economic Times.

Poonawalla said that the ideal gap between two doses of Covishield is two months, and another dose of vaccine should be taken after six months.

Poonawalla's assertion came in response to a question about a report in the medical journal Lancet which stated that antibodies against coronavirus created by Covishield decrease after some time. He said, it was true that the antibodies decrease, but 'memory cells' remain.

"After six months, the antibodies go down and that is why I have taken the third dose. We have given the third dose to our seven to eight thousand SII employees. For those who have completed the second dose, it is my request to take a booster dose (third dose) after six months," Poonawalla was quoted as saying.

Talking about the ideal gap between the first two doses, Poonawalla shared, "Since there was a shortage of vaccine, the Modi government changed it to three months, but a two-month gap is ideal."