India’s homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, has demonstrated an overall clinical efficacy of 78% at preventing mild, moderate and severe coronavirus infections and efficacy of 100% against severe COVID-19 infection in results of its second interim analysis of phase 3 clinical trial data.
Developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in partnership with the National Institute of Virology and the Indian Council of Medical Research, Covaxin is one of the two vaccines that has been deployed in the national inoculation drive by the central government. So far, India has crossed a significant landmark in administering more than 15 crore vaccination in the country.
The chairman of Bharat Biotech issued a statement in which he stated that the COVAXIN has demonstrated an excellent safety record in human clinical trials and in usage under emergency use. The efficacy data against severe COVID-19 and asymptomatic infections is highly significant, as this helps reduce hospitalisations and disease transmission, respectively.
Achieving the goal: Phase III Study Analysis
The analysis of the phase III study witnessed 25,800 participants between 18-98 years of age including 10% of participants over 60. The placebo recipients have now become eligible to receive two doses of Covaxin after successfully achieving the required criteria as the analysis had been conducted 14 days post 2nd dose. The protocols for manufacturing, testing and release of inactivated Covaxin shots meet the requirements of WHO, Indian and other regulatory authorities. According to the company, over 60 countries globally have expressed their interest in Covaxin shots.
Efficacy against most variants of SARS-CoV-2
Claiming as one of the most effective international vaccines of the highest standards, the ICMR chief has stated that Covaxin works well against most variants of SARS-CoV-2 and proved its efficacy in the same. Chief medical advisor and America’s top pandemic expert Dr Anthony Fauci has stated that India’s Covaxin has been found to neutralise the 617 variant of the deadly virus.
India authorized the emergency use of Covaxin on January 3, 2021. Covaxin is a vaccine that is developed by teaching the immune system to make antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The company aims to reach 700 million doses per year and hence, in order to achieve the target, ramping up of production capacity across multiple facilities in Hyderabad and Bangalore is taking place.
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