Covaxin 81 per cent effective, claims Bharat Biotech

Covaxin is 81 per cent effective in preventing Covid and can work against the UK variant of the virus, Bharat Biotech said on Wednesday as it revealed Phase III trial results for a vaccine that was cleared in January amid concerns over its safety and efficacy. "The first interim analysis is based on 43 cases, of which 36 cases of COVID-19 were observed in the placebo group versus seven cases observed in the BBV152 (COVAXIN) group, resulting in a point estimate of vaccine efficacy of 80.6%," the company added.This data, though, has yet to be peer-reviewed.

The made in India vaccine is being administered currently along with Serum Institute of India's (SII) Covishield in the ongoing vaccination drive. Several lawmakers including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who have received the first dose of their Covid-19 vaccine, have received Covaxin.The trial, which began in November last year, involved 25,800 participants across 25 sites, who were randomly divided into two groups. One group was given the vaccine and the other got a placebo. 43 people (seven from the group that got the vaccine) were found to have coronavirus.Interim analysis also showed that severe, serious, and medically attended adverse events occurred at low levels and were balanced between vaccine and placebo groups, Bharat Biotech said.

The company also said that "analysis from the National Institute of Virology indicates that vaccine-induced antibodies can neutralise the UK variant strains and other heterologous strains".Trials will continue to final analysis of 130 confirmed cases in order to gather more data and evaluate the efficacy of the vaccine, the company added. Data from the third stage of trials - which measures the vaccine's success in protecting against the coronavirus - has been widely anticipated amid concerns over Covaxin's safety and efficacy.