Covishield and Covaxin, the two coronavirus vaccines currently in use in India have efficacy against the ‘Indian strain’ and show ‘milder’ illness in case of infection post-vaccination, a senior scientist said on April 27 citing preliminary results of a study. Anurag Agrawal, the Director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), said the study on the effectiveness of the available vaccines on the B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV2 suggests that post-vaccination, the infections are milder. The B.1.617 variant is also being called a ‘double mutant’ or the ‘Indian strain’.
‘Initial positive neutralization studies of B.1.617, with both post-Covaxin or Covishield sera, are correlatable with the milder disease during post-vaccination breakthrough infections. This is positive while we get quantitative data for better understanding of infection protection,’ Agrawal tweeted. IGIB is an institute under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Another study by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad under the CSIR suggests that early results using in-vitro neutralization assay show that both convalescent (prior infection) sera and Covishield-vaccinated sera offer protection against the B.1.617 variant.
- IIT Bombay Sets Up Rs 100 Crore Venture Capital Fund for Startups
- Tata Power Inks MoU with Asian Development Bank for $4.25 Billion
- Innovators Facade Shares Skyrocketed 11% on Securing Orders Worth Rs 110 Crore
- Stocks in Focus: SJVN, Tata Power, Afcons Infrastructure, and Others
- Stocks Under F&O Ban: Adani Enterprises, Aarti Industries, Indraprastha Gas, and Others
‘Very preliminary but encouraging result: #Covishield protects against #B1617. Early results using in vitro neutralization assay show that both convalescent (prior infection) sera and Covishield vaccinated sera offer protection against the B.1.617 variant, aka #DoubleMutant,” CCMB Director Rakesh Mishra tweeted last week. The B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV2 has been found prevalent largely in Maharashtra and Delhi that have been severely hit by a devastating second wave of the pandemic.