Covaxin Effective Against Omicron Variants, Says ICMR as Sub-variants Driving up US Surge Found in Maha, Tamil Nadu

The administration of Covaxin as a booster dose enhances vaccine effectiveness against Covid-19’s Delta variant and gives protection against Omicron variants BA.1.1 and BA.2, a study by ICMR and Bharat Biotech has found.

The study found that, after three-dose vaccinations, lesser virus shedding, lung viral load and lung disease severity were observed in the immunised groups in comparison to the placebo groups.

“The evidence from the present study shows that Covaxin booster immunisation tends to broaden the protective immune response and reduces disease severity against the Delta and Omicron variant infection,” it further said.

India now has BA.4 and BA.5, in addition to BA.2, which have a slightly higher transmissibility as compared to the other Omicron sub-lineages, the centre said on June 11. However, Dr N K Arora, chairman of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), said that no variant of concern has been found and there is no cause for panic.

Although BA.4 and BA.5 variants have been detected in Maharashtra, “BA.2 continues to be the most prominent variant,” the health department said on Tuesday.

In the US, BA.2.12.1. has gradually topped the BA.2 variants, which was causing the surge at the start of this, in the last three months. As per recent CDC findings, BA.2.12.1 now accounts for 62% of US cases.

Maharashtra on Tuesday reported two more cases of the BA.5 variant of coronavirus, the state health department said. Both the patients, found in Thane city, had been vaccinated. They recovered from the infection in home isolation, the department said in a press release.

Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, head of microbiology at Pune’s BJ Govt told Times of India that as variants spread, they acquire more mutations, from which the one with the better survival advantage replaces the previous one. He said the parameter to gauge should be hospitalisations and death.

Karyakarte said that hospitalisation, oxygen, or ICU care are less in the case of the new sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5.

On May 28, for the first time in Maharashtra, four patients of B.A.4 sub-lineage and three cases of BA.5 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were found.

In Tamil Nadu, Health department principal secretary J Radhakrishnan on June 8 said BA4 and BA5 lineage of Omicron variants were detected in Tamil Nadu, and samples for whole genomic sequencing was also taken on regular basis.

(With PTI inputs)

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