To expand its mass vaccination program, the Indian government has now given clearance to Moderna vaccine thus providing a wider option for the public to choose between four vaccines. Earlier Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V were administered among the Indian population to contain the spread of Covid, now the Moderna vaccine will be added to that list.
With the approval given to the US-based vaccine Moderna, for emergency use, India now has 4 different vaccines against coronavirus. This perhaps will bolster the vaccination across India.
To begin with, it was AztraZeneca and Pune-based Serum Institute of India's Covishield that was first administered, later Bharath Biotech launched Covaxin and recently Russian-made vaccination Sputnik V was added. Now Moderna will be given at all the government as well as private hospitals.
'Fantastic Four' and their features
Covishield: Covishied vaccine dosage given to a person is 0.5ml and has to be given twice.
The duration between the first dose and second should be 12 to 16 weeks as per the latest guidelines.
As per the latest study by Lancet, the efficacy rate for Covishield is 81.3%.
The price of Covishield vaccine at all private clinics is Rs 780.
As per reports, Covishield is a viral vector platform vaccine. A chimpanzee adenovirus – ChAdOx1 – has been altered to enable it to carry the Covid-19 spike protein into human cells. This cold virus may not harm the receiver. It helps the immune system to attack against coronavirus.
Covaxin: The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's invention, the vaccine contains inactivated viruses. This does not infect a person when administered and it also prepares the immune system to prepare a defense mechanism against the active virus.
As per recommendations, 0.5 mL should be given twice within a gap of 4-6 weeks after the first dose.
Covaxin’s efficacy rate was 81% according to interim 3rd phase trial results.
Administration of Covaxin at all private hospitals and clinics will cost Rs 1410.
Sputnik V: The researchers at Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow developed the vector vaccine by using two different human adenoviruses.
Unlike other vaccines like Covishield and Covaxin, the public opting for Sputnik jab will get two slightly different versions for the first and second dose. The first is rAd26 and the second dose is rAd5. The two vectors carry the gene for full-length SARS-CoV-2 glycoprotein or protein S. As per reports, two different formulas boost the immune system and neutralise the Covid virus present in the body.
Sputnik V is given 0·5 mL/dose to the public and the duration for the second dose is 21 days.
As per reports, the efficacy rate for Sputnik V is 91.6%.
Sputnik V vaccine has been capped at Rs 1145 at all the private hospitals.
Moderna: One of the most effective RNA vaccines as per reports at present, the US-made vaccine's efficacy rate is at approximately 94.1%.
The report says that the effect of the vaccine was shown 14 days after receiving the 1st jab from the receiver.
As per Mayo Clinic study, Moderna vaccine uses genetically engineered mRNA to give human cells instructions for how to copy the S protein found on the surface of the Covid-19 virus. After vaccination, a person's immune cells begin copying S protein pieces and displaying them on cell surfaces. This causes the human body to create antibodies. If a person later contracts Covid-19 infection, these antibodies will fight the virus.
As per the company standards, the duration for two doses of vaccines is to be maintained at 28 days interval.
Each time a person gets a jab, he or she will be administered 0.5ml.
The price of the Moderna vaccine dose is yet to be announced.
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