Scientists at the Indian National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, have found that both Covaxin and Covishield produce half as many antibodies against the B.1.617 variant of the novel coronavirus as against the ‘original’ B.1 variant.
The scientists conducted their studies with blood sera (plural of serum, the fluid part of the blood) obtained from people who had received either two doses of *Covaxin or two doses of *Covishield. They were motivated by the need to understand how the vaccines’ efficacies varied against infections due to newer strains of the virus. The B.1.617 variant – made up of three sub-lineages – is accounting for more cases in India. The UK recently elevated the B.1.617.2 sub-lineage as a ‘variant of concern’.
