New Delhi: The Union Government on Wednesday said that the Covid – 19 vaccination can be taken three months after recovery. The Covid – 19 second dose of vaccine should also be delayed by three months for anyone contracting the disease after the first dose.

So far, there was no fixed gap for taking a Covid – 19 vaccines in such situations. Individual physicians recommended a gap of two or four weeks depending on the condition of the patient.

The fresh rules are part of the recommendations by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid – 19 led by NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul, which have been accepted by the Union health ministry. The new expert group has also recommended vaccination for lactating women.

The Government in a statement said that available real life evidence, particularly from the United Kingdom, the Covid – 19 working group has agreed to increase dosing interval between two doses of Covishield to 12-16 weeks.

No change in intervals for Covaxin was recommended. Today’s decision is likely to impact lakhs of people who have contracted the disease. The country logged 2.67 lakh new cases today, taking the overall count to 2.54 crore and the number of active cases to 1, 27, 046.