Trials for third booster shot of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin start in AIIMS

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Trials for the efficacy of a third booster dose of the country’s homegrown vaccine Covaxin, manufactured by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, started on Monday at AIIMS Delhi and AIIMS Patna.</p>
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The booster dose is to be given six months after the participants had received their second dose in the trial, which had taken place between September and October 2020.</p>
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Bharat Biotech had got permission from the expert panel of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to conduct clinical trials for a third booster dose of Covaxin on a few of its volunteers in April.</p>
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The study is expected to establish whether a third booster shot extends the immunity to Covid-19 over  a longer period of time. It is also expected to enhance the immunity against new mutations of the vaccine that appear to be taking place. </p>
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US pharma giants Pfizer and Moderna have also announced that people who have received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Covid-19 vaccines will probably need a booster shot this year and might need an annual shot thereafter.</p>
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However, health experts are of the view that more data is needed to establish if a third anti-COVID-19 booster dose will be more effective in fighting the surge of infections in the country.</p>
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Currently, people eligible for inoculation in the country are being administered either Serum Institute of India’s Covishield or Covaxin/ Russia’s Sputnik V is the third vaccine that has started being used on a small scale in Hyderabad but is expected to pick up as bulk imports arrive. Production of the vaccine is expected to start in August.</p>