COVAXIN Booster 100% effective against Delta variant, 90% against Omicron: Bharat Biotech

COVAXIN booster dose has shown effective, with robust neutralising antibody responses against both Omicron and Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus, Bharat Biotech informed on Wednesday. The company said that the booster dose showed 100 percent effective against the Delta variant and 90 percent against the Omicron variant.

Hyderabad: COVAXIN booster dose has shown effective, with robust neutralising antibody responses against both Omicron and Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus, Hyderabad-based vaccine-maker Bharat Biotech claimed on Wednesday. The company said that the booster dose showed 100 percent effective against the Delta variant and 90 percent against the Omicron variant.

"100 percent of test serum samples showed neutralising of the Delta variant and more than 90 percent of serum samples showed neutralising of the Omicron variant," the company revealed. These data add to the body of evidence that the broad-spectrum mechanism of action of a whole virus inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, like COVXIN, is a viable option in this continuously evolving pandemic, a Twitter post by the company added.

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 neutralizing Omicron and Delta variants on a live virus neutralization assay. The Hyderabad based company claimed that the neutralization 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 Center 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 hospitalizations, said the statement.

"We are in a continuous state of innovation and product development for Covaxin. The positive neutralization 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.

(With agency inputs)