NEW DELHI: Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin (BBV152), has been found to be effective against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, according to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The health body said in a tweet that Covaxin is effective against Delta AY.1 and B.1.617.3 variants of COVID-19.
Recently, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.617.2 (Delta), with its high level of transmissibility, had led to the advent of the second wave of COVID-19 in the country. Covaxin showed efficacy of 65.2 per cent against the Delta variant in a double-blind, randomised multicentre, phase 3 clinical trial. The Delta variant has further mutated to Delta AY.1, AY.2 and AY.3.
The study conducted on Covaxin has been published on Biorxiv, a pre-print server, and has not been peer reviewed. The vaccine showed efficacy of 77.8 per cent against symptomatic COVID-19 infection and 65.2 per cent protection against the Delta B.1.617.2 variant, according to Bharat Biotech.