GARUD SAARATHI
ST ALOYSIUS COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), MANGALURU
COVAXIN
COVAXIN, India's indigenous COVID-19 vaccine by Bharat Biotech is developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Virology (NIV). The vaccine is developed using Whole-Virion Inactivated Vero Cell derived platform technology. Inactivated vaccines do not replicate and are therefore unlikely to revert and cause pathological effects. They contain dead virus, incapable of infecting people but still able to instruct the immune system to mount a defensive reaction against an infection.
Key Attributes:
• COVAXIN is included along with immune-potentiators, also known as vaccine adjuvants, which are added to the vaccine to increase and boost its immunogenicity
• It is a 2-dose vaccination regimen given 28 days apart.
• It is a vaccine with no sub-zero storage, no reconstitution requirement, and ready to use liquid presentation in multi-dose vials, stable at 2-8oC.
COVAXIN effective against UK variant strain:
Analysis from the National Institute of Virology indicates that vaccine-induced antibodies can neutralize the UK variant strains and other heterologous strains.
HOW IS THE BHARAT BIOTECH COVID-19 VACCINE (COVAXIN ) GIVEN?
The Bharat Biotech COVID-19 (COVAXIN ) will be given to you as an injection into the deltoid muscle of the upper arm. COVAXIN vaccination series is 2 doses given 4 weeks apart.
WHO SHOULD NOT GET COVAXIN ?
You should not get COVAXIN if you: Had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredients of the vaccine. Had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose of this vaccine. Currently have an acute infection or fever.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF BHARAT BIOTECH COVID-19 VACCINE (COVAXIN )?
Side effects that have been reported with the Bharat Biotech COVID-19 (COVAXIN) include:
• Injection site pain Swelling / Redness / Itching
• Headache
• Fever
• Malaise/body ache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
WHAT SHOULD I DO ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS?
If you experience any side effect(s), please contact/visit your health provider/Vaccinator/ Officer supervising your vaccination or immediately go to the nearest hospital. In addition, you can report side ® effects after vaccination to Bharat Biotech International Limited who is the manufacturer of COVAXIN on 24x7 Toll-Free Number: 18001022245 or email at pvg@bharatbiotech.com.
The CDSCO said the vaccine had been approved for “restricted use in an emergency situation” and that it would be deployed in a “clinical trial mode.
Covishield
A COVID‑19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus causing COVID-19 Before the COVID‑19 pandemic, there was an established body of knowledge about the structure and function of coronaviruses causing diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which enabled accelerated development of various vaccine technologies during early 2020.
Introduction
The Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, codenamed AZD1222, and sold as Covishield in India, iis a viral vector vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19. Developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, it is given by intramuscular injection, using a modified chimpanzee adenovirus (cold causing virus) as a vector. The efficacy of the vaccine is 76.0% at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 beginning at 22 days following the first dose and 81.3% after the second dose.
On 30 December 2020, the vaccine was first approved for use in the UK vaccination programme, and the first vaccination outside of a trial was administered on 4 January 2021. The vaccine has since been approved by several medicine agencies worldwide, such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, and was approved for an Emergency Use Listing by the World Health organization.
Medical uses
The Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID‑19 vaccine is used to protect against infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to prevent COVID-19 in adults aged 18 years and older. The medicine is administered by two 0.5 ml doses injected intramuscularly into the deltoid muscle (upper arm) four to twelve weeks apart, with the WHO recommending the second is given 8 to 12 weeks after the first for optimum efficacy.
Efficacy:
An analysis published on 19 February 2021 showed an efficacy of 76.0% at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 beginning at 22 days following the first dose, increasing to 81.3% when the second dose is given 12 weeks or more after the first.
Method of action:
Covishield uses a simian adenovirus vector i.e. a virus which causes cold
in apes which is genetically altered to carry a small segment of coronavirus
genes, specifically the gene coding for the Spike protein, which is a
characteristic feature of SARS-CoV-2. The immune system of the body is
able to identify the Spike protein and produce antibodies to latch onto it
and destroy the virus. The method of producing these antibodies is
remembered by the immune system.
In case of a future SARS-CoV-2 infection, the immune system is immediately
Able to identify the Spike proteins and produce antibodies rapidly which
target and destroy the invading virus. Thus producing a rapid immune
response which suppresses the virus before the infection can strengthen.
Side Effects:
The most common side effects in the clinical trials were usually mild or moderate and got better within a few days after vaccination.
Vomiting, diarrhoea, swelling, redness at the injection site and low levels of blood platelets occurred in less than 1 in 10 people. Enlarged lymph nodes, decreased appetite, dizziness, sleepiness, sweating, abdominal pain, itching and rash occurred in less than 1 in 100 people.
In very rare cases the vaccine can lead to blood clots in combination with low levels of blood platelets.
As with other vaccines, anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions are a known side effects, hence it should be given under close supervision.
Sputnik V
Sputnik V is a viral vector vaccine for COVID 19 developed by the Gamaleya research institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. Registered on 11 August 2020 by the Russian Ministry of Health as Gam-COVID-Vac. Sputnik V is an adenovirus viral vector vaccine.
Emergency mass distribution of the vaccine began in December 2020 in countries including Russia, Argentina, Belarus, Hungary, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates. By February 2021 over a billion doses of the vaccine had been ordered for immediate distribution globally.
The first dose of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine provides sufficient protection on its own to be used without a second injection. Clearing the way for a faster vaccination campaign in Russia.
This vaccine is on its way to India. Russia's Sputnik V has been deemed to be safe and works in a way similar to the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab which is being made in India as Covishield.
Sputnik V gives around 92% protection against Covid-19. It uses a cold-type virus, engineered to be harmless, as a carrier to deliver a small fragment of the coronavirus to the body.
Safely exposing the body to a part of the virus's genetic code in this way allows it to recognize the threat and learn to fight it off, without the risk of becoming ill.
After being vaccinated, the body starts to produce antibodies especially tailored to the coronavirus.
This means that the immune system is primed to fight coronavirus when it encounters it for real.