Interval for AstraZeneca jabs cut to six weeks beginning Oct 1 - Khairy

PUTRAJAYA: The interval for injection of the first and second doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will be cut from nine to six weeks beginning Oct 1, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

"This is to facilitate the vaccination of those who received the first dose of AstraZeneca; they can get their second dose after six weeks," he told a press conference on developments regarding COVID-19 here today.

In June, the Ministry of Health (MoH) had shortened the interval between the first and second doses for AstraZeneca vaccine to nine weeks from 12 weeks initially.

Recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine have had to wait longer for their second jab compared to those who received other brands of vaccine.

On long COVID cases who had to be readmitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), Khairy said there had been cases of patients returning to hospital to be treated based on the long COVID symptom after their discharge.

However, there had been no sharp increase in readmissions to ICU among long COVID patients in the last two weeks, he added.

He also said there was no specific classification for deaths due to the long COVID symptom because fatalities were recorded based on the cause of death.

"Several studies are being conducted to know this issue better and the findings will be announced once the studies have been completed," he added.

-- BERNAMA