What happens if you miss your second dose of Covaxin?
What happens if you miss your second dose of Covaxin?
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A shortage of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin in some areas has meant that some people have been unable to have their second dose within the recommended time frame.
A shortage of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin in some areas has meant that some people have been unable to have their second dose within the recommended time frame.
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Dr John Hart is a medical epidemiologist. He is a Research Fellow at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne, and a Research Clinician at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
We don’t have data on the effectiveness of a single dose of Covaxin, or an extended delay between 2 doses of Covaxin although for other vaccines an extended gap between first and second doses has produced a greater immune response (https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-06-28-delayed-second-dose-and-third-doses-oxford-astrazeneca-vaccine-lead-heightened).
It is likely that a second dose of a different vaccine would be safe and boost the immune response although data are not available for Covaxin mixed and matched with other vaccines.
To be clear, having only a single dose of Covaxin will not in itself cause any harm – the harm could come if a person is infected with COVID-19 after a single dose as they will not be as well protected against severe outcomes.
