America’s top pandemic expert Anthony Fauci said that Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin developed in India was found to neutralise B.1.617 variant or the Indian double mutant strain of the Covid-19 virus
Bengaluru: In a great boost to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, America’s top expert Anthony Fauci said that this vaccine developed in India was found to neutralise B.1.617 variant or the Indian double mutant strain of the Covid-19 virus, as per a Hindustan Times report.
"This is something where we're still gaining data on a daily basis. But the most recent data, was looking at convalescent Sera of COVID-19 cases and people who received the vaccine used in India, the Covaxin. It was found to neutralise the 617 variants," he said.
"So, despite the real difficulty that we're seeing in India, vaccination could be a very, very important antidote against this," Fauci added.
It is pertinent to note that Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently announced that according to a study, Covaxin neutralises multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively neutralises the double mutant strain as well.
Presently, India is vaccinating its people with two vaccines – Covishield produced by Serum Institute in Pune and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad.
India has vaccinated more than 12 crore people, the highest in any country. Presently, it is vaccinating those above 45 years of age. Vaccinators will open their doors to population of 18+ to 45 from May 1 onwards.
The registration for the same begins on Cowin app from 4 pm on April 28.
Experts have opined that that these vaccines will play a great role in helping people develop a better immune system to fight the virus.
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