Maldives is currently facing shortage of supply of the Covishield / AstraZeneca vaccine which have already been used to administer the first dose of vaccine to a large portion of the population. However, the challenge now is that more than half of those who got a Covishield / AstraZeneca jab is not waiting for the second dose availability.
Among rising concerns of the waiting period extending past the number of weeks announced before, Health Protection Agency has assured the public that a 6-month window has been declared safe as the time gap between the first and the second dose.
In light of the global pandemic stressing vaccine production around the globe, World Health Organization has reviewed the waiting period and released a statement suggesting safe means to make alternative decisions. With regard to this report, Maldives Technical Advisory Group has considered HPA’s decision to complete the vaccination within 6 months of the administration of the first jab as an acceptable measure.
HPA further stated that the government of the Maldives is working hard on sourcing the vaccines and as soon as new shipments arrive, the second dose administration will commence. Until then, it is a countdown for 6 months of waiting for those who have received only the first dose of Covishield / AstraZeneca vaccines.