Around 70 cases of the Delta Plus variant were found by INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium), a group of 28 laboratories involved in genome sequencing, says Jitendra Singh, Union Science and Technology Minister in Parliament last week (in July).
‘Covaxin proves effective against the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 as per an ICMR study. The vaccine demonstrated overall efficacy of 77.8% against symptomatic infection in July and now awaits WHO approval for emergency use listing (EUL).
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Efficacy of Covaxin
Covaxin is the first indigenous vaccine of India to fight COVID-19, developed by Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with ICMR. So far, 430 million doses of vaccine have been distributed across India – one of the world’s largest vaccination drives.
The first interim analysis by Bharat Biotech – the Hyderabad-based company, revealed almost 81% efficacy for Covaxin in March. The analysis included 43 cases, of which 36 cases of COVID-19 were observed in the placebo group versus 7 cases observed in the BBV152 (Covaxin) group.
The second interim analysis released April showed that the vaccine’s efficacy against severe COVID-19 disease was 100%.
The vaccine demonstrated overall efficacy of 77.8% against symptomatic infection in July. The Company now affirms that it is in discussions with the World Health Organization (WHO) to obtain emergency use listing (EUL) for Covaxin.
Source: Medindia
