Covaxin, one of the main vaccines used in the coronavirus vaccination campaign in India, provides only 50% protection against symptomatic Covid-19, according to a real-world study that suggests the vaccine was more than initially thought. , is less effective than that.
As India was hit by a second major wave of covid earlier this year, researchers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi analyzed data on 2,714 healthcare workers at the hospital who showed symptoms of the infection and between April 15, RT- PCR tested. May 15, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Disease.
The authors found that after two weeks or more of completing the two-dose regimen, the adjusted efficacy of the symptomatic Covid vaccine was 77.8% lower than the interim results established in an end-stage trial, in a study this month. was published in The Lancet at the beginning of ,
The high infection rate and exposure to the virus among hospital staff contributed to Covaxin’s low effectiveness in the real world, as well as the possibility that the then-newly emerged delta variant had exploded, the researchers said. Shot protection, the researchers said.
“Our study provides a more complete picture of BBV152’s performance in the region and should be viewed in the context of the COVID-19 growth situation in India, combined with the potential immune evasion potential of the delta variant”Manish Soneja, additional professor of medicine at AIIMS in New Delhi, said in a statement, referring to the scientific name of the vaccine.
More than 130 million doses of Covaxin have been administered in India so far. Bharat Biotech and the Indian government, which has widely promoted the vaccine, in January sought to close the door on disputes over the vaccine’s initial authorization, ahead of the end of phase 3 human trials, l’era widespread hesitation in the country. It spread.
The World Health Organization’s independent technical group also took months to grant emergency approval to Covaxin in early November, repeatedly asking for additional data from Bharat Biotech.