Covaxin effective against Delta Plus variant of COVID-19, says ICMR study

By Team Newsable | First Published Aug 2, 2021, 2:17 PM IST

Delta Plus variant of coronavirus is a global public health concern due to its impact on existing vaccines.

New Delhi: Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin is effective against the rampant Delta Plus variant of Covid-19, a recent study by the Indian Council of Medical Research revealed.

Covaxin was developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) National Institute of Virology (NIV).

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The Delta Plus variant of coronavirus is a global public health concern due to its impact on existing vaccines.

Last month, Bharat Biotech said that Covaxin has shown efficacy of 77.8% against symptomatic Covid-19 and 65.2% protection against the new Delta variant. The vaccine manufacturer concluded the final analysis of Covaxin efficacy from Phase 3 trials.

The Covaxin is the first Covid-19 vaccine that has been domestically developed completely in India.

Pre-clinical studies in small animals and hamsters showed promising results in terms of safety and immunogenicity. Further studies conducted in rhesus macaques also established remarkable safety and protective efficacy of Covaxin. Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials conducted in 755 participants demonstrated high safety profile of the candidate vaccine with seroconversion rates of 98.3% and 81.1% on day 56 and 104 respectively.

On Tuesday, all documents required for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) were submitted to WHO by Bharat Biotech for Covaxin as of July 9 and the review process by the agency had commenced, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar informed Rajya Sabha.

Responding to a question on whether it has come to the notice of the government that COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin used in India is not recognised by many countries, Pawar had said the government is aware that Covaxin at present is not part of WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL).

The review process by WHO has commenced. WHO usually takes up to six weeks to decide on Emergency Use Listing (EUL) submissions, she said in a written reply.

Covaxin has already received emergency use authorization in 16 countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Philippines and Iran. Covaxin is among three vaccines currently being used in the country for the nationwide inoculation drive in India. The other two vaccines are Serum Institute of India's Covishield and Russia's Sputnik.

NOTE: Asianet News humbly requests everyone to wear masks, sanitize, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Together we can and will break the chain #ANCares #IndiaFightsCorona

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