Explained: What are the Govt’s new guidelines on Covid-19 vaccine deferment?
The new guidelines recommended to the states say that persons with any other serious general illness requiring hospitalization or ICU care should also wait for 4-8 weeks before getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
The new health ministry guidelines recommend that individuals having lab tests proven SARS-2 COVID-19 illness should defer COVID-19 vaccination by three months after recovery. (AP photo)
The Union Health Ministry has come out with new guidelines on vaccination, stating four specific categories of individuals should defer Covid-19 vaccinations.
Which is the first category, who has to defer Covid-19 vaccination?
The new health ministry guidelines recommend that individuals having lab tests proven SARS-2 COVID-19 illness should defer COVID-19 vaccination by three months after recovery.
I have received my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine but have tested positive after vaccination. Do I have to defer my second dose?
Yes. The new health ministry recommendation communicated to states says that for individuals who have received at least the first dose and got COVID-19 infection before completion of the dosing schedule, the second dose should be deferred by three months after clinical recovery from COVID-19.
Does a non-Covid-19 patient hospitalised for another separate treatment also defer vaccination?
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Yes. The new guidelines recommended to the states say that persons with any other serious general illness requiring hospitalization or ICU care should also wait for 4-8 weeks before getting the COVID-19 vaccine. It is to be noted those who have severe comorbities, including cancer, should not defer vaccination; however, only those who have been hospitalised or have undergone treatment for the comorbidities in critical care should defer vaccination.
Which is the fourth category of individuals who have to defer vaccination?
The new recommendations state that in COVID-19 patients who have been given anti-SARS-2 monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma – COVID-19 vaccination to be deferred by three months from the date of discharge from the hospital.
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
