Covaxin Effective Against UK Variants Of Covid-19: Study

The covid-19 vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech - Covaxin, is found to be effective against UK variants of Covid-19, according to a preprint review by bioRxiv, a free online archive and distribution service for unpublished preprints in the life sciences.

The archive is operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, not-for-profit research and educational institution in New York.

The bioRxiv website article - Neutralization of UK-variant VUI-202012/01 with Covaxin vaccinated human serum - shared the findings of the study and said these are preliminary reports that have not been peer-reviewed.

"A comparable neutralization activity of sera of the vaccinated individuals showed against UK-variant and the heterologous strain with similar efficiency, dispel the uncertainty of possible neutralization escape," the article said.

Covaxin has been accorded approval for restricted emergency use in the country by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on January 3.

While giving the approval for Covaxin, DCGI V G Somani had said, "Bharat Biotech has developed a Whole Virion Inactivated Coronavirus Vaccine (Covaxin) in collaboration with ICMR and NIV (Pune), from where they received the virus seed strains. This vaccine is developed on the Vero cell platform, which has a well-established track record of safety and efficacy in the country & globally".

With PTI inputs