Can vaccine composition be changed according to Delta, Delta Plus? Here's what ICMR chief says

Changing the composition of the vaccine according to variants of interest and variants of concern is the way forward, if there is a need, ICMR chief Dr Balram Bhargava has said.

The Indian Council of Medical Research is studying the effect of vaccines against various variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as at a later stage a change in vaccine composition can be suggested according to the circulating variants of concern and variants of interest, ICMR chief Dr Balram Bhargava has recently said. Vaccine composition is easily modifiable, especially that of the mRNA vaccines, but whole virus inactivated vaccines can also be modified. But this is only a need-based solution that the ICMR has thought of as a way forward, Dr Bhargava said.

Changing the composition on mRNA vaccines is easy, Dr Balram Bhargava said, (REUTERS)

As the Covid-19 virus is replicating, its variants have become a reason for concern as every variant appear to be stronger than the previous one. For example, the Alpha variant which was first reported in the United Kingdom has now got overpowered by the Delta variant, first reported in India. Now, the Delta variant is responsible for 90 per cent of Covid-19 cases in the United Kingdom. Several other countries have now reported this variant.

A slide from ICMR chief's recent presentation where he talked about need-based change in vaccine composition.

The ICMR is studying the impact of the vaccines against the Delta Plus variant, which is being sporadically reported from various states in the country. In other countries too, the variant has been reported. India has classified the variant as a variant of concern though there is not enough evidence to suggest whether Delta Plus is more transmissible than Delta. Experts have said that the very localised cases in India are not enough to claim that Delta Plus is spreading rapidly.