NEW DELHI: Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser at the White House, said in a statement on April 27, that India’s home-grown vaccine, Covaxin has been found to neutralise the 617 variant of the deadly coronavirus. While speaking to reporters on a conference call, Dr Fauci stated that while health experts are still gaining data on a daily basis on this aspect of the vaccine, the most recent data based on the convalescent Sera of COVID-19 cases and people who received the vaccine used in India, the Covaxin, reveals that it can effectively neutralise 617 variant.
The New York Times on April 28 had reported that the Covaxin works by teaching the immune system to make antibodies against the coronavirus infection.
Dr Fauci said that vaccination could be a very important antidote against the difficult situation that India is facing right now. Moreover, Dr. Andy Slavitt, COVID-19 Response Senior Advisor at the White House, said that a strike team from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is headed over to India to help coordinate this response. He added that the United States of America is trying to locate some of the raw materials necessary to create more vaccines in India.