Covaxin Neutralises Multiple Variants Of Covid-19 Virus Including Double Mutant Strain: ICMR Study

India's first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, is effective against multiple variants of the Covid-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus, including the double mutant strain found in India, according to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The Covaxin, which has been developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the ICMR, is one of the two vaccines, the other being the Serum Institute of India's Covishield, that are currenly being used in India's Covid-19 vaccination drive.

According to the ICMR, the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) had successfully isolated and cultured multiple variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 virus including the variants originating from United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.

The NIV has demonstrated the neutralization potential of the Covaxin against the variants from Brazil and UK in a study published in Journal of Travel Medicine in March.

Recently, the NIV successfully isolated and cultured the double mutant strain of the Coronavirus, identified in the certain regions of India and several other countries.

In the latest study, the Covaxin has been found to effectively neutralise the double mutant strain as well, according to the ICMR.