India's COVAXIN likely effective against UK variant - study

A vaccine developed by India's Bharat Biotech and a government research institute is likely to be effective against the UK strain of the coronavirus, according to a study on 26 participants shared by the company on Wednesday.

The findings on COVAXIN, which is in use in India after receiving emergency-use authorisation early this month, have been published on the website bioRxiv that carries research not certified by peer review.

"Sera from the vaccine recipients could neutralise the UK-variant strains discounting the uncertainty around potential escape," wrote scientists from the company and its partner, the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research.

"It is unlikely that the mutation 501Y would be able to dampen the potential benefits of the vaccine in concern."

Another study published on bioRxiv last week said a vaccine developed by US company Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech was also likely to protect against the more infectious variant that has now spread around the world, with 150 cases in India.

While approving COVAXIN without any efficacy data from an ongoing late-stage trial, India's drug regulator had touted its ability to act against the whole body of a virus instead of just its "spike-protein" tip, potentially making it more effective in case of mutations.

India has already expanded the use of the vaccine in its massive immunisation programme that began on Jan. 16 and has so far covered more than 2 million people on the frontline such as sanitation workers, nurses and doctors.

The world's second most populous country, which has reported the most number of Covid-19 infections after the United States, has also approved the Oxford University-AstraZeneca shot for emergency use.

India on Wednesday reported 12,689 new infections, taking the total to 10.69 million. Deaths rose by 137 to 153,724.

Bharat Biotech has sought emergency-use authorisation for its vaccine in the Philippines and is also in talks with Brazil to sell shots.