Covaxin: 10 things to know about the India’s first Covid-19 vaccine

Team Udayavani, Jul 9, 2020, 1:10 PM IST

Covaxin is being developed by the company Bharat Biotech India (BBIL) in collaboration with ICMR’s National Institute of Virology (NIV). It is an “inactivated” vaccine, one made by using particles of the Covid-19 virus that were killed, making them unable to infect or replicate.

Here are 10 things to know about Covaxin

1.The vaccine is being developed in high containment facility located in the Genome Valley in Hyderabad

2.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV) is working closely with Bharat Biotech India (BBIL) to develop the vaccine.

3.Covaxin is the first indigenous vaccine being developed by India and is one of the top priority projects which is being monitored at the topmost level of the Government.

4.The SARS-CoV-2 strain was isolated in NIV, Pune and transferred to Bharat Biotech

5.In the second phase, Bharat Biotech plans to enroll 750 people

6.BBIL plans the complete enrolment of trial participants by July 13, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) head Dr Balram Bhargava had directed the sites to complete enrolment by July 7.

7.The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has given approvals for phase I and II trials so far.

8.The authorities claimed that emergency-use approval of the  vaccine can be given if data from the first two trial phases is compelling enough.

9.Bharat Biotech completed comprehensive pre-clinical studies in two months after receiving regulatory approvals.

10.BBIL said results from these studies have been promising and show extensive safety and effective immune responses.