Indian Covid vaccine shot showed 78% efficacy against severe reactions and most of the Covid variants, says an article published in Bloomberg Quint.
Covaxin
Covaxin, a two-shot injection that uses an inactivated or dead form the virus, also showed 100% efficacy at preventing severe symptoms and hospitalizations against the coronavirus. The vaccine was made at Bharat Biotech International Ltd. and the Indian Council for Medical Research.
Director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research Balram Bhargava said, “Covaxin works well against most variants of SARS-CoV-2. Several million doses of Covaxin had already been administered in the country. The vaccine effectively neutralizes a double mutant strain that has been detected and caused wide.”
Vaccine shows 81% efficacy in those without a prior infection
The latest readings claimed the vaccine showed an 81% efficacy rate in those without prior infection after a second dose, adding to certainty over Covaxin after the shot was contentiously approved in January before it had completed Phase 3 testing.
Vaccine manufacturers needs to speed up production
With India’s health system on the verge of collapse as it hits record rates of Covid infections and deaths, the government is pressuring the country’s vaccine makers to quickly speed up their output amid a supply crunch. Bharat Biotech, which has been earmarked for a 650 million rupee ($8.6 million) government grant, said on Tuesday that it would try to scale up production of Covaxin to about 700.
India has currently authorized three vaccines. Two of them from Astrazeneca Plc and Bharat Biotech are already in use, while the third being Russia’s Sputnik V.
Suchitra Ella, the joint managing director of Bharat Biotech said, “Despite India curbing vaccine exports this month as it attempts to get a grip on a new and overwhelming wave, more than 60 countries have expressed interest in Covaxin, which has quietly validated our efforts.”
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Source: BloombergQuint
