COVAXIN 77.8% effective against coronavirus in Lancet study
What's the story
COVAXIN's safety and efficacy data has been peer-reviewed and published in The Lancet medical journal, confirming the vaccine is 77.8% effective against COVID-19. This comes four months after the company revealed similar findings in a published pre-print study. COVAXIN is India's first indigenous vaccine against the coronavirus and is one of the six vaccines that have been approved in the country.
Context
Why does it matter?
The study reaffirms COVAXIN's position as a safe and effective jab against COVID-19. It helps brush off hesitancy and doubts triggered by frequent delays in its data analysis and approvals by top health regulators around the world. Just last week, the vaccine had secured the crucial Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Details
Efficacy analysis done on 130 cases
The efficacy analysis was done after the evaluation of 130 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 24 observed in the vaccine group and 106 in the placebo group. The vaccine's developer Bharat Biotech had carried out Phase-3 trial on over 25,000 volunteers across 25 sites in India. It had found the shot to be 93.4% effective against severe symptomatic cases and 63.6% effective against asymptomatic disease.
Vaccine
COVAXIN is an inactivated virus-based shot
COVAXIN is an inactivated virus-based vaccine. It is India's second-most prevalent coronavirus vaccine and was cleared here in January this year. It has been developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) National Institute of Virology (NIV). As of November 3, over 12 crore doses of COVAXIN have been administered to the eligible population across India.
Statement
'Validates our commitment to data transparency'
"The peer review of COVAXIN's Phase-3 clinical trial data in The Lancet, an authoritative voice in global medicine, validates our commitment to data transparency and meeting the stringent peer review standards of world-leading medical journals," Krishna Ella, chairman of Bharat Biotech, said in a statement. "This accomplishment reflects the undeterred commitment by my team members at Bharat Biotech," Ella added.
WHO nod
COVAXIN got WHO nod after a long wait
COVAXIN had received WHO's approval for Emergency Use Listing earlier this month. The EUL came months after Bharat Biotech submitted a request as it was repeatedly delayed over insufficient trial data. The nod has paved the way for more and more countries to recognize the jab for international travel. The company says its emergency-use authorization application is being processed in at least 50 countries.
Quote
Negativity hurt us, says Ella
Ella said that negativity from a section of the media and politicians affected COVAXIN's WHO approval process. "The way anti-things happen, that has hurt us more. I want people to realize instead of criticizing just ask us, we will tell the truth," he said.