Covaxin neutralises double variant: US expert

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 28

Days after the ICMR announced that the indigenous Covid shot Covaxin worked against the Sars-Cov2 double mutant 617, the US too endorsed the effectiveness of the product against the variant, that has, according to the World Health organisation, been found in at least 17 countries.

White House chief medical adviser and US’ leading pandemic expert Anthony Fauci today said Covaxin, a Bharat Biotech-ICMR vaccine, had been found to neutralise variant 617.

The ICMR had on April 21 said Covaxin worked against the double mutant (617) detected in 16 states of India. Meanwhile, the WHO today urged India to fill critical gaps in essential medical supplies and hospital capacities. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region, said the WHO was procuring lab supplies, including 1.2 million reagents, to meet the huge demand. To make available additional hospital beds and critical equipment, it was also procuring mobile field hospitals with a capacity of 20 to 30 beds, she added.

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BioNTech chief: Herd immunity in Europe by Aug

Berlin: Europe can achieve herd immunity within the next four months, head of German pharmaceutical company BioNTech, which developed the first widely approved Covid-19 vaccine with US partner Pfizer, said on Wednesday. – AP