All you need to know about Bharat Biotech's Covaxin

The first batch of vaccines to Guwahati, Patna, Delhi, Kurukshetra, Bangalore, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Chennai and Lucknow.

Hyderabad based pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech on Wednesday delivered a successful shipment of vaccines for coronavirus disease to 11 cities in the country. As per the official statement, the firm delivered 16.5 lakh doses through air shipment.

A medic fills a syringe with Covaxin, a government-backed experimental Covid-19 vaccine, before administering it to a health worker during its trials. (Reuters File Photo)

The first batch of vaccines to Guwahati, Patna, Delhi, Kurukshetra, Bangalore, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Chennai and Lucknow.

Bharat Biotech developed the Covaxin in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (NIV).

Here is all you need to know about the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine:

1) According to Bharat Biotech, Covaxin is an inactivated two-dose vaccine which is manufactured in BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) biocontainment facility. An inactivated vaccine is one which is developed by inactivating (killing) the live microorganisms that cause the disease.

2) The company also states that Covaxin generates memory T-cell responses, for its multiple epitopes, which gives rapid antibody response to future infections. "Its most critical characteristic is the demonstrated safety profile, which is significantly lower than several other vaccines with published data," it stated in a release.

3) The third phase of a clinical trial is still going on, and Bharat Biotech has already published the findings of the first two rounds. It followed a double-bind, randomised, multi-centre phase two clinical trial which included children as well.

4) Bharat Biotech in its report published after animal studies said that its vaccine candidate showed protective efficacy. The vaccine candidate was administered in 20 rhesus macaques, divided into four groups. One group was administered with placebo, while three other groups were immunised with three different vaccine candidates. “To summarise, the vaccine candidate was found to generate robust immune responses. Thus, preventing infection and disease in the primates upon high amounts of exposure to live SARS-CoV-2 virus,” the company had said.

5) The company received a nod for emergency use authorisation for Covaxin on January 3 by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).