India’s vaccines succeed: Only 0.02% got Covid after Covishield shot & 0.04% in case of Covaxin

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India-made vaccines are proving to be highly successful in preventing the deadly Covid-19 disease that is wreaking havoc worldwide, official figures show. </p>
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The Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday that data on Covid-19  infections after vaccination in India showed that  only 0.04 per cent of those who received the first dose of Bharat Biotech's made-in-India Covaxin contracted Covid.</p>
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For Serum Institute of India's Covishield, the vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca, the numbers are even lower, as only about 0.02 per cent of those who received the first dose of Covishield tested positive for Covid.</p>
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Mr Bhargava said these numbers include even healthcare workers who received the vaccine but are exposed to far more Cvoid-19 patients than the others.</p>
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This is a very, very low number, said Balram Bhargava, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).</p>
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Of the 93,56,436 who have received the first dose of Covaxin, 4,208 have tested Covid positive.</p>
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A similar percentage was infected after their second dose of Covaxin. Out of 17,37,178 who received both doses, only 695 tested positive.</p>
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So out of 10,03,02,745 recipients of one Serum Institute’s Covishield dose, 17,145 have tested positive.</p>
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Some 0.03 per cent turned up positive after the second dose. In numbers, that is 5,014 out of 1,57,32,754 recipients of both doses of Covishield.</p>
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The government said these numbers prove the vaccines are safe and effective so more and more people should get their shots to fight effectively against Covid-19.</p>
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Experts say the first dose of vaccine may not prevent Covid but it can certainly protect against severe infection or death.</p>
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Typically, it takes two weeks after both doses for the body to build immunity against the virus, according to scientists.</p>
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<strong>More than 13 crore vaccinated</strong></p>
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Meanwhile, more than 13 crore people have now been vaccinated in India as another 29.9 lakh persons were administered the anti-Covid shots on Tuesday, according to figures from the health ministry.</p>
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India, was in fact the fastest to vaccinate the first 10 crore people which was again followed up by the next milestones of 11, 12, and 13 crore in record time.</p>
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The government has now thrown open vaccination to all adults in the country from May 1 which will mark a further acceleration of the inoculation drive.</p>