Monday, 17 May 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
Indigenously developed Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine — Covaxin — has produced neutralising titres (concentration) against all key emerging variants tested, including the B.1.617 and B.1.1.7, first identified in India and the United Kingdom, according to a study published in peer-reviewed medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
A modest reduction in neutralisation by a factor of 1.95 was observed against the B.1.617 variant compared to the vaccine variant (D614G).
Bharat Biotech joint managing director Suchitra Ella cited it. However Ella added that despite this reduction, neutralising titre levels with B.1.617 remain above levels expected to be protective.
“No difference in neutralisation between B.1.1.7 (first found in the UK) and vaccine strain (D614G) was observed,” Ella said.
These findings are from a study conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology — ICMR.
