Which Vaccine is Best for Covid in India?

Due to the second and most dangerous wave of Covid-19, India has left behind Brazil to become 2nd in the total number of Coronavirus cases. Also, it stands on 3rd position in the number of deaths due to this deadly virus. Amidst this, vaccination is in full swing in India with many private hospitals, NGOs, social organizations, and other volunteers standing up to provide a helping hand. In this short read we will discuss Which Vaccine is Best for Covid in India as many are confused to make an effective choice.

Which is the Best Covid-19 Vaccine in India? Well, this question is daunting as there are mixed reviews on all the available vaccines. Let’s have a look at the current Coronavirus vaccines, Covaxin, Covishield, and Sputnik-V to make some comparisons.

The Covaxin vaccine is developed in India itself by Bharat Biotech. It is an inactivated vaccine. It operates by triggering the immune system of the body. This triggering is done by the dead virus contents present in the vaccine. It is found that Covaxin makes the person less sick (short sickness after vaccination) as compared to Covishield.

According to the preliminary data of phase 3 trial, Covaxin has an efficacy rate of 81%. It has to be taken in 2 doses with the 2nd dose to be taken after 28 days from the 1st dose. Clinical trials of Covaxin for kids aged 2+ years have been started in India as per a Pharmeasy report.

This vaccine is made by using a similar method which was used for making vaccines for seasonal influenza, rabies, polio, pertussis, and Japanese encephalitis.

The Covishield vaccine is developed jointly by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. It is based on the viral vector platform. It is made from a common cold virus (weakened form) found in chimpanzees. People have complained about headache, joint pain, and fever after getting this vaccine, but it lasts for 1-2 days only.

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As per the trial data, Covishield has an efficacy rate of 70%. Again, this vaccine has to be taken in 2 doses with the 2nd dose to be taken 84 days after the 1st dose. Covishield is made by using methods which were used to make vaccines for ebola.

Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine is developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute. It is a vector vaccine based on an adenovirus. It uses a cold-type virus as a carrier to deliver a small fragment of the Covid-19 to the body.

Sputnik-V is the latest vaccine (arrived in May 2021) to be used in India. According to a report by The Lancet, it gives around 92% efficacy from Covid-19 virus. It has 2 slightly different versions which are given as dose 1 and dose 2. The gap between both doses should be 21 days.

All vaccines meet approval and safety standards. Moreover, these 3 vaccines are effective in protection from Coronavirus. Therefore, whenever you get a chance to get vaccinated you can go ahead with any of these available vaccines.

India is planning to bring in global Coronavirus vaccines amidst short supply, rising cases, and many other concerns. This will boost vaccination, but also make way for paid vaccinations and may increase vaccination costs by private entities.

Pfizer-BionTech is all set to provide its mRNA-based vaccine to India. According to a TOI report, it will arrive in July 2021 in India. Moreover, it said that India will provide around 5 crore Pfizer vaccine doses to the public between July-October 2021.

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The Pfizer vaccine has worked well in the UK, USA, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Australia, Japan and Singapore. It is also working well for kids aged between 12-18 yrs in some countries so India might also expect some good news for kids vaccination.

The Moderna vaccine is also based on mRNA just like Pfizer. It is expected to arrive by the end of 2021 in India. Cipla may become the Indian supplier of this vaccine. The Moderna vaccine gives 94% efficacy against symptomatic Covid.

Novavax is a US-based vaccine. In India, it is managed by The Serum Institute of India which also manufactures Covishield. Its trials were started in November 2020 in India and is expected to be implemented for use in July 2021.

The Janssen vaccine is developed by the American medical giant Johnson & Johnson. It is a single shot vaccine. It is implemented in the US and UK, and has shown great efficacy rates. The possibility of this vaccine arriving in India is very less as it is currently used as an emergency Covid vaccine.

Are you vaccinated? If yes then how has been your after vaccination journey till now? Do share your views in the comments below so that others can benefit in some or the other way.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be an alternative for medical treatment by a healthcare professional. Therefore, the reader is recommended to consult their physician because of unique individual needs.