Covaxin (COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine)

2021: Vaccine efficacy was below 50%

At the end of November 2021, it was reported that the overall effectiveness of the Indian coronavirus vaccine (COVID-19) of Covaxin infection was below 50%. These findings are based on research that was published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The study took place between April 15 and May 15, 2021, at the peak of the second wave of infections in India.

The study was conducted at 2.7 thousand symptomatic workers at hospitals of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi during the second wave, which made it possible to analyze Kovaksin's effectiveness in real-world conditions. According to the study, out of 2.7 thousand workers examined at AIIMS, 1.6 thousand people showed a positive result for coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and 1 thousand people a negative result, after conducting RT-PCR tests 14 or more days after receiving the second dose of Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech.

Efficacy of Indian Covaxin coronavirus vaccine was below 50%

According to The Indian Express, most subjects were tested during the first 20 days of the 30-day study, when the level of positive tests for COVID-19 in India peaked. Professor of Medicine at AIIMS Manish Soneja said the hospital's study provides a more complete picture of how Covaxin acts in the field and should be considered in the context of COVID-19 surge conditions in India, coupled with the possible immuno-dodging potential of a delta variant of coronavirus infection.

The Technical Advisory Group of the World Health Organization (WHO) in early November 2021 recommended that Covaxin be included in the list of emergency drugs (EUL). A technical advisory group convened by WHO, consisting of regulatory experts from around the world, determined that the Covaxin vaccine complies with WHO standards for protection against COVID-19, that the benefits of the vaccine significantly outweigh the risks and the vaccine can be used worldwide.

The Covaxin vaccine prevented 47% of infections, that is, its real effectiveness was lower than that which the drug showed during phase III clinical trials - 63% for all cases of the disease and 77% if asymptomatic cases are excluded. Scientists attribute this to the fact that the study took place in April-May 2021, during the peak of the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant in India. At that time, about 35% of all polymerase chain reaction tests in Delhi were positive. Since the beginning of December 2021, scientists plan to continue observations and evaluate how effectively the drug protects patients from the delta variant of coronavirus infection, as well as from getting into intensive care and death from severe forms of COVID-19.^[1]

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