New Indian Covid Vaccine Candidate Can Withstand Even 100 Degrees Celsius

India's new heat-resistant COVID-19 vaccine candidate can be stored at 37 degrees Celsius for four weeks and even at 100 degrees Celsius for up to 90 minutes. In comparison, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine must be kept between 2-8 degrees Celsius and the Pfizer vaccine at minus 70 degrees Celsius.

A heat-resistant COVID-19 vaccine that is being developed in India and does not need cold chain storage has generated strong antibody response against coronavirus variants, including Delta and Omicron, according to a study on mice.

The vaccine candidate, by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and biotech start-up company Mynvax, uses a part of the viral spike protein called the receptor-binding domain (RBD), which allows the virus to connect with the host cell to infect it.

The team, including researchers from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), noted that most vaccines require refrigeration to remain effective. The heat-tolerant COVID-19 vaccine candidate can be stored at 37 degrees Celsius for four weeks and at 100 degrees Celsius for up to 90 minutes.

In comparison, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, known as Covishield in India, must be kept between 2-8 degrees Celsius and the Pfizer preventive requires specialised cold storage at minus 70 degrees Celsius.