New Delhi, May 16 (IANS): Requisite changes have now been made on the CoWIN digital portal, making online or on-site appointments for Covishield vaccine not possible if the period after first dose for a beneficiary is less than 84 days, it was announced on Sunday.

The Union Health Ministry said: "CoWIN digital portal has been reconfigured to reflect change in dose interval of Covishield vaccine to 12-16 weeks."

However, already booked online appointments for second dose of Covishield will remain valid and are not being cancelled by CoWIN, but the beneficiaries are advised to reschedule their appointments for a later date beyond the 84th day from the date of first dose of vaccination.

The Central government has reiterated to the states and UTs that the online appointments booked for second dose of Covishield prior to this change of the interval between the two doses, must be honoured, and field staff instructed that, if such beneficiaries do come for vaccination, the second Covishield dose must be administered and the beneficiaries must not be turned away.

They have also been advised to undertake awareness activities to inform the beneficiaries about this change.

The Covid Working Group chaired by Dr N.K. Arora had recommended extension of the gap between the first and second doses of Covishield vaccine to 12-16 weeks.

This has been accepted by the government on May 13 and it has communicated this change to states and Union Territories, Arora said.