COVAXIN overall 77.8% effective in Phase-3 trial, says Bharat Biotech
COVAXIN, the coronavirus vaccine developed by India's Bharat Biotech, is overall 77.8 percent effective, the company said in a statement today, sharing the final analysis of its phase three trial data. The data has been published on a pre-print server, however, it is yet to be peer-reviewed, reports say. COVAXIN was cleared for emergency use in India this January.
Jab provides 65% protection from Delta variant, firm says
In a tweet today, Bharat Biotech said the vaccine is 78% effective against "mild, moderate and severe COVID-19 disease." It is 93% effective against "COVID-19 disease reducing hospitalizations," the firm stated. It also shows 63% efficacy against asymptomatic COVID-19 transmission. The jab provides 65% protection from the highly-infectious Delta variant, which is currently the most prevalent coronavirus variant in India.
Phase-3 trials involved over 25,000 volunteers, 25 sites
Phase three trials of COVAXIN involved 25,800 volunteers between ages 18 and 98. The company says it was the "largest efficacy trial in India" and carried out at 25 sites across the country. The final analysis is of 130 symptomatic COVID-19 cases, that were reported at least two weeks after the administration of the second dose.
Here is the tweet from Bharat Biotech
COVAXIN not yet approved by the WHO
COVAXIN is an inactivated vaccine, which means it uses an inactivated or killed SARS-CoV-2 virus to stimulate an immune response against it. It has been developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV). It has not yet been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), although that decision is expected next month.
India has 3 other approved COVID-19 vaccines
Besides COVAXIN, India has given approval to three vaccines - Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield, Russia's Sputnik V, and the US-made Moderna vaccine. Recently, Indian firm Zydus Cadila applied for approval of its coronavirus vaccine. India has so far administered over 34 crore vaccine doses. Even though over 20% of Indians have received at least one vaccine shot, just above 4% have been fully inoculated as yet.
India's COVID-19 situation
India had faced the world's worst coronavirus outbreak over the past couple of months. Daily cases in the country had peaked at 4,14,000 in early May. The situation has since improved. In the past 24 hours, the country reported over 44,000 new infections. India's death toll has crossed four lakh. Experts have warned that a third wave of COVID-19 could hit India by October.
