Covaxin Effective Against New UK Covid-19 Strain, says Bharat Biotech
27-January-2021

Days after US pharmaceutical giant Moderna claimed that its Covid-19 vaccine protects against the two new mutant strains of the coronavirus, Bharat Biotech has claimed Covaxin, too, has been found effective against the UK variant of the virus, which is said to be 70 per cent more infectious than the Wuhan strain and is more lethal.

"Covaxin effectively neutralises UK variants of SARS-CoV-2 reducing the possibility of mutant virus escape," tweeted Bharat Biotech on Tuesday, along with a link to its research paper.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had earlier this month approved Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country, paving the way for a massive inoculation drive.

The presence of the new UK variant has already been reported by several countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore. The Government of India had put in place a proactive and preventive strategy to detect and contain the mutant variant. Over 150 cases of the new strain have surfaced in India, so far.

India had suspended all flights coming from the UK from December 23 till January 7 and mandatory testing of all UK-returned air passengers through RT-PCR test was carried out.

British authorities have said there is evidence that the variant circulating there may be more deadly than the original.

Dr Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious diseases expert, had called the new variants even "more ominous".