Question: On 3rd January 2021, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved which of the following Covid-19 vaccine/vaccines for emergency use?
a) Covishield
b) Covaxin
c)Sputnik V
d) Comirnaty
i) a and b
ii) b and c
iii) a and d
iv) none of the above
Answer: i)
Context
- Indian drug regulator CDSCO has granted nod to Covishield by Serum Institute of India, Covaxin by Bharat Biotech for Covid 19 treatment in emergency situation.
Facts
- After this approval Covishield by Serum Institute of India ,Pune and based on the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech will be offered to healthcare workers and frontline workers in India.
Covishield
- Covishield has been developed by the Oxford University scientists in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. In India, its trial was undertaken by the Serum Institute of India (SII), which is also manufacturing the Covishield vaccine for the mass vaccination drive.
- It is developed by using the virus — adenovirus — that causes common cold infections among chimpanzees. Its genetic material is same as that of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
- The Vaccines efficacy was reported at 70.4% in phase trials conducted in U.K.
Covaxine
- It is developed by Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV).
- It uses a dead corona virus also called inactivated virus. Under inactivated state, the virus is not capable of infecting people or replicating on its own inside the body of a person after being injected. But a shot of the vaccine prepares the immunity system to recognise the actual virus and fight it if and when infection happens.
- The efficacy of ongoing phase 3 trial on around 22000 people has not been made public yet.
By – Kameshwar Shukla