Covaxin Booster Enhances Protection Against Variants Of Concern: ICMR Study

The government on Saturday announced that precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccines will be available to all aged above 18 years at private vaccination centres from April 10.

A booster dose of Covaxin administered six months after the two dose primary vaccination has shown elevated immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern including Omicron and protection from severe disease, a study by ICMR and Bharat Biotech has found.

The emergence of Omicron with at least 30 mutations within most vaccines' target region - the spike protein - raised an alarm about its immune escape from vaccine-induced neutralising antibodies, thereby leading to increased transmissibility and causing breakthrough and reinfection, senior scientist at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, Dr Pragya Yadav, told news agency PTI.

Additionally, reports of waning of antibody responses against the emerging variants of concern (VoCs) of virus for other approved vaccines have raised concern globally, she said.

As a part of the study the antibody responses in sera of 51 participants who received two doses of Covaxin collected six months post second dose and 28 days after receiving a third (booster) dose (given on day 215th post second dose) and its impact against the Omicron VoC was evaluated.