Vital Facts about Covaxin and Covishield

What vaccine are you taking? Learn more…

Monday, 3rd May 2021

The third phase of the covid vaccination program in India is scheduled to start from the 1st of May and in this phase, all above the age of 18 are entitled to get vaccinated.

The vaccination drive, perhaps one of the largest drives in the whole of the world arrives at just the time when India is facing the buffets of a devastating crisis arising out of the mutant coronaviruses and the pandemic’s second wave.

Vaccines available

At present people of the country can lay their hands on two vaccines against the infection- one is Covaxin made by Bharat Biotech and the other is Covishield made from a joint initiative of Serum Institute & Oxford University-AstraZeneca. Other vaccines against the virus, including the Sputnik V, are, as per resources, soon to get introduced into the Indian market.

Both Covishield and Covaxin occupy the center stage when it comes to the vaccination drive in India and is homemade vaccines. While the Covaxin is completely made as well as developed in our country, the Covishield vaccine is made by the Pune-based Pharmaceutical Company Serum Institute of India.

What is the difference between Covaxin and Covishield?

Yet there are some advantages as well as dissimilarities that set the two vaccines apart from each other.  The Covishield is the most popular both in the country and globe and is chosen by the maximum number of people. The covaxin, on the other hand, is currently considered by many to be the most tolerant and effective vaccine against the virus’s mutant strains. But which one could be the better choice?

Both Covishield and Covaxin enjoy a similarity with regard to the source. Both are made from the modified/inactive virus versions.

While the Covishield vaccine, manufactured as well as marketed by the Serum Institute, is a kind of vector vaccine against the virus. It is made out of an adenovirus found in the Chimpanzees, ChAD0x1 in order to deliver the spike proteins and generate an immune response tolerable in nature as an outcome of the exposure to a live virus.

Also Read: All About Distressed Breathing and Lung Involvement in Covid-19 Infection.

Storage

Covaxin, on the other hand, is a traditionally made covid vaccine but it makes use of an inactive strain of the virus. A dead virus is used in the case of Covaxin to draft a desirable immune response.

Dosage

Both are two-dose vaccines, given to the patients at an interval of a couple of weeks. The vaccines are injected intramuscularly, mostly in the muscles of the upper arm. The interval between two doses of the Covaxin should be around 4-6 weeks and the interval between two doses of the Covishield should be around 6-8 weeks. When the gap between the two doses of the vaccine was extended, the immune response was far better according to the findings of the experts. Storing of the vaccines is easy…the vaccines can be stored at 2-8°C using traditional methods.

In terms of effectiveness, both Covaxin and Covishield have been found to be pretty effective in generating a definite and substantial immune response as per the WHO standards.

Also Read: Health hacks to let you stay healthy during lockdown.

Pricing

Serum Institute’s Covishield is available for Rs 300 at the government facilities while for the private facilities the price would stand at Rs 600. In comparison to Covishield, Covaxin is a bit pricey. At the government facilities, it will be available at a price of Rs 400 while at the private facilities, it will be available for Rs 1200.

The News Talkie Bureau

Source:

TimesofIndia Indiatimes