The COVID-19 pandemic has in many ways bared the cracks and drawbacks of quite a few aspects of our national infrastructure. However, it has also brought to the fore the sheer determination of the country's doctors and researchers to take the virus by its spikes and fight back.
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, which played a crucial role in the development of India's many indigenous vaccines prior to Covaxin, has been in the fight against many diseases such as Zuka and Chikungunya. They are behind the realization of the dream of homegrown vaccines in India against several diseases.
Contributions to Other Vaccines
In 2016, Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech announced the development of vaccines against the dreaded Zika virus (ZIKV), which spreads through mosquitoes belonging to the genus Aedes. The company announced the efficacy of a vaccine that was found to provide 100 percent protection in mice. In 2021, the company announced the launch of its two 'Zikavac' vaccines.
Over the past decade, the company has made significant contributions towards the understanding of another mosquito-borne pathogen—the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and the immunity acquired through infection from the virus.
Indigenous Weapon Against COVID-19
Coming to Covid-19, the Covaxin team of Bharat Biotech has taken lead at a time when several potential vaccine candidates from across the world stepped up to the challenge of immunizing people against COVID-19, but only a few managed to reach the masses. One such candidate was Covaxin—the fruit of Bharat Biotech's efforts for over one and a half years.
Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine. In other words, it is a vaccine that utilizes chemically treated SARS-CoV-2coronavirus that is incapable of reproduction and devoid of pathogenicity. It is administered in two doses; 28 days apart.
The indigenous vaccine is the product of the collaboration between Bharat Biotech, the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). In March 2021, it was reported that Covaxin showed interim vaccine efficacy of 81 percent in Phase III trials comprising 25,800 subjects.
Earlier this month, Covaxin received trial approval for the third dose of Covaxin for participants who have already received the second dose, from the Subject Expert Committee (SEC).
