Covishield and Covaxin are ‘made in India’ vaccines. Both are based on two-dose principle for the desired effect on the beneficiary. However, both are remarkably different on many fronts.
COVAXIN
- This vaccine is India’s indigenous COVID 19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)- National Institute of Virology (NIV).
- This is an Inactive vaccine, which means the vaccine has been made by the inactivated or dead COVID-19 virus. Such vaccine produces an immune response to any attack of such viruses in future.
- This vaccine has employed that kind of technology which has already been proven to work on people. This is the way the flue and polio vaccines are made.
- This vaccine has been manufactured on a reasonable scale; however, it requires special laboratory facilities to grow the virus safely and can have relatively long production time.
- This vaccine is considered comparatively safe as it has been made using a proven technology.
Covishield
- This COVID 19 vaccine is globally known as AZD1222. It has been developed by Oxford University in collaboration with pharma major Astrazeneca. India’s Serum Institute is their manufacturing and trial partner.
- It contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein. It uses a living but weakened version of this virus. The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and the chickenpox and shingles vaccine are the examples that use the similar technology.
- Its use is restricted. The person suffering from severe allergy or has very poor immunity should refrain from it. Any woman that is pregnant or has planned to be pregnant or is breast-feeding should be aware of getting jabbed.
- The vaccine restricts even those who have taken some other vaccine.
More than 8 lakh people have got the Indian Vaccine till Jan 21, 2021 and all are safe except few side effects, which are quite normal. The Indian Government is trying its best to put the final nail in the coffin of COVID 19.