The Maldives’ Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) has announced that the gap between administring two doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been revised from four weeks to eight weeks. The decision to extend the duration between the administering of two doses was made by the Maldives Technical Advisory Committee.
Speaking at a press conference held Wednesday, member of HEOC’s Technical Advisory Group, Dr. Nazla Musthafa said the second dose of the COVISHIELD vaccine being administered under the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program will be scheduled eight weeks from the date the initial shot is administered. The change was brought as per the World Health Organization (WHO)’s recommendations and recent research, said Dr. Nazla.
“The decision was made by the Technical Advisory Committee to administer the second dose after an eight-week gap as the World Health Organization’s guidelines advise as such. The effectiveness of the vaccine increases if the second dose is given at an eight week interval instead of four,” said Dr. Nazla.
Dr. Nazla noted that recommendations regarding COVID-19 change based on new findings. All COVID-19 related decisions made by the Maldives is based on WHO guidelines and the newest research, she added. HEOC advised the public to keep their vaccine card safe until the second dose is administered.
The Maldives began its national COVID-19 vaccination drive on February 1st. While over 50,000 people have received the vaccine over the past two weeks, authorities continue to encourage the public to get vaccinated against the virus.
