Covid-19: Covaxin booster dose neutralises Delta, Omicron variants, says Bharat Biotech

The findings suggest that a booster dose has the potential to reduce disease severity and hospitalisations

Reuters file

By ANI

Published: Wed 12 Jan 2022, 7:12 PM

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech on Wednesday claimed that its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin can neutralise both the Delta and Omicron variants.

In a statement, Bharat Biotech said: “Results from a study conducted at Emory University demonstrating that sera from subjects who received a booster dose of Covaxin (BBV152) six months after getting a primary two-dose series of Covaxin, neutralized the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta variants.”

It also mentioned that earlier studies demonstrated the neutralizing potential of Covaxin against SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern Alpha, Beta, Delta, Zeta and Kappa.

The study will be published on the pre-print server, medRXiv, shortly. Sera samples from individuals who received a booster of Covaxin were observed to be effective in neutralising Omicron and Delta variants on a live virus neutralization assay.

The Hyderabad-based company claimed that the neutralisation activity of Covaxin boosted sera was comparable to what has been observed in mRNA vaccine-boosted sera against the Omicron variant and found more than 90 per cent of all individuals boosted with Covaxin showed neutralizing antibodies.

"All participants received an initial two-dose schedule of Covaxin on Day 0 and Day 28. As the dominant Covid-19 variant throughout the world, Omicron poses a serious public health concern,” said Mehul Suthar, PhD Assistant Professor, Emory Vaccine Centre who led the laboratory analysis.

Data from this preliminary analysis show individuals receiving a booster dose of Covaxin have a significant immune response to both the Omicron and Delta variants. These findings suggest that a booster dose has the potential to reduce disease severity and hospitalisations, said the statement.

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“We are in a continuous state of innovation and product development for Covaxin. The positive neutralisation responses against the Omicron and Delta variants validate our hypothesis of a multi-epitope vaccine generating both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. Our goals of developing a global vaccine against Covid-19 have been achieved with the use of Covasxin as a universal vaccine for adults and children,” said Dr Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech.

“The global impact of Omicron shows us that the fight against Covid-19 continues, and we are encouraged that these data demonstrate the value of Covaxin as a primary and booster vaccine. These results show how a broad-spectrum vaccine has the potential ability to address ever-shifting public health challenges such as new variants and mutations,” said Dr Shankar Musunuri, chairman, CEO and co-founder, Ocugen, Inc.