According to a new research, it comes to light that giving a 3-month interval between doses of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine results in higher vaccine efficacy than a six-week gap. The first dose can offer up to 76 percent protection in the months between the two jabs.

The results of the analysis from a phase 3 randomized controlled trial, published in The Lancet journal, suggest that the interval between doses can be safely extended to three months given the protection a single dose offers.

According to the researchers, including those from the University of Oxford in the UK, this dosage regimen is beneficial while vaccine supplies are initially limited, and may allow countries to immunize a larger proportion of the population more rapidly.

From the study, the researchers sought to understand the effect of different intervals on protection after the second dose, and the risk of infection between jabs -- either due to lower efficacy of a single dose, or rapid waning of efficacy while waiting for the second dose.

The scientists compared the number of symptomatic COVID-19 cases in the control and COVID-19 vaccine groups, occurring more than 14 days after the second dose.

They also estimated the impact of one or two doses of the vaccine on reducing COVID-19 cases as an indicator of how the vaccine might help to reduce transmission in the community. To evaluate the efficacy of a single dose, the authors assessed participants who had taken their first standard dose but tested positive for COVID-19 more than 21 days afterward.

France registers 24,116 new corona cases

Corona cases rising in MP, 297 new cases surfaced

Brazil reports 51,050 fresh corona cases, 1,308 more deaths