Vaccine to be given in 2 doses
The COVID-19 vaccine will be administered in two doses, with a gap of 28 days between both.
According to Director of Public Health G. Srinivasa Rao, without the second dose, the immunisation will be of no use. People cannot be relaxed about COVID-19 precautions immediately after taking the first shot, he added. Citing literature, the senior official said that antibodies against the novel coronavirus would develop seven days after taking the second dose.
Since 28-day gap is to be maintained between the two doses, a vaccine receiver might have to continue taking precautions such as wearing mask and observe hand hygiene for five days after the first shot.
Around 10,000 Auxiliary Nursing Midwives and staff nurses from the Public Health department will serve as vaccinators. Each vaccinator can administer 100 doses a day. That effectively means the 10,000 staff can administer 10 lakh doses a day, explained the senior official.