Summa Real Media consulting editor (Digital) Subrat Das takes first jab of Covaxin

Bhubaneswar, Mar 10: Veteran journalist of Odisha and Prameya News 7 digital wing consulting editor Subrat Das took the first dose of Covaxin at Sum Ultimate Medicare. After taking the vaccine against coronavirus Das said, “It is very usual to have the vaccine as I felt no side effect. I request all the senior citizens and co-morbidities patients above 45 years to take the vaccine at their turn.” {"id":101580,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} As India's vaccination drive against Covid-19 gathers momentum, the clouds of initial hesitancy about receiving Covaxin, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, has now cleared, raising demand and acceptability of the country's first indigenous vaccine against the disease. While a major boost to the vaccine's acceptability came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the first dose of the vaccine earlier this month, the publication of efficacy results gave the vaccine another shot in the arm. According to Neha Gupta, infectious disease specialist at Medanta -- The Medicity Gurugram, the Prime Minister getting his vaccination done is an "assurance and inspiration" for the general public. "There has been an increase in demand for Covaxin," she said, adding that Covishield is also accepted and "can be used in immunocompromised individuals as well". Covishield is a counterpart of AstraZeneca/Oxford university developed Covid-19 vaccine, currently manufactured in India by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII). Bharat Biotech had earlier this month announced the first interim analysis of Covaxin, which showed the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine to be at 81 per cent in its Phase-3 clinical trials. The trials involved 25,800 subjects, the largest ever conducted in India, in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Interim efficacy results of the Phase-2 trials published in the journal The Lancet showed that Covaxin is "safe, immunogenic with no serious side effects." (With IANS Input)