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India s Covaxin vaccine likely effective against UK SARS-CoV-2 variant: Study
The worldwide increase in the circulation of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to the crossing of the shocking milestone of 100 million reported cases. Among the chief causes of growth in infection numbers have been the emergence of new variants, notably the UK variant, with increased infectivity relative to the ancestral strain. However, a new preprint research paper, posted to the preprint server
bioRxiv , presents data indicating that the Indian-made Covaxin vaccine candidate successfully neutralizes this variant, preventing infection when challenged by it.
The UK variant
The UK variant is also called the Variant of Concern (VOC) 202012/01, also known as lineage B.1.1.7 or 20B/501Y.V1. It has rapidly increased as a proportion of new cases of COVID-19 in the UK in the space of fewer than two months. B.1.1.7 has been sequenced from other countries as well, an
Study claims Covaxin has ability to neutralise new UK Covid strain
Reacting to the study s claims, ICMR tweeted Covaxin has equivalent immunogenicity against the UK-variant and circulating strains of SARS-COV-2 in India.
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Covaxin is being developed and manufactured by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR. (Representational image)
Covaxin, the Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by Bharat Biotech, has the ability to neutralise the new UK variant of the virus causing Covid-19, according to a preprint review by bioRxiv, a free online archive and distribution service for unpublished preprints in the life sciences.
The archives operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a not-for-profit research and educational institution in New York.
India could be at a turning point in its life and death battle against Covid-19 with a steady fall in the number of cases combining with the government’s ambitious plans to roll out vaccines at high speed. Virologists say the declining case trajectory may reflect herd immunity taking hold in localised areas of the country.
Daily new Covid-19 cases in the country have been riding below 20,000 for a number of days and on Monday stood at 16,504. That’s more than six times below the peak hit on September 16 when fresh cases hit 97,784. It was widely forecast in mid-September that India was about to crack a dismal milestone of a record 100,0000 fresh cases a day. Instead, the number of daily cases began slipping. “You can’t miss the trend. I think we have turned a corner,” says virologist Shahid Jameel.