Covaxin can neutralise the 617 variant of coronavirus, says US top health expert

April 28: Since the government gave the green signal to Covaxin and Covishied to be administered in India, there has been frequent debates as regards the level of efficacy of these two Covid-19 vaccines. Top United States (US) health expert, Anthony Fauci opined that Covaxin, India’s indegenous Covid-19 vaccine has been found to neutralise the 617 variant of the deadly virus.

The New York Times on Tuesday said Covaxin works by teaching the immune system to make antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with National Institute of Virology and the Indian Council of Medical Research, Covaxin was approved for emergency use on 3 January. Trial results later showed the vaccine has an efficacy of 78 percent.