India to increase interval between doses of AstraZeneca shot

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's health ministry on Monday wrote to states asking them to administer second AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine doses to recipients within four to eight weeks, from the current guideline of four to six weeks.

"The recommendation has been revised to provide the 2nd dose of COVISHIELD at 4-8 weeks’ interval after the 1st dose, instead of earlier practiced interval of 4-6 weeks," the ministry said in a statement, using the brand name for the vaccine made locally by the Serum Institute of India.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Toby Chopra)