Good News: Covishield Offers Protection Against Double Mutant Variety Of COVID-19

A new study by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) shows that the Serum Institute of India manufactured Covishield vaccine is effective against the double mutant variety of COVID-19 prevalent in many parts of India.

CCMB Director Rakesh K Mishra, however, said the results are preliminary but encouraging.

“Early results using in vitro neutralisation assay show that both convalescent (prior infection) sera and Covishield vaccinated sera offer protection against the B.1.617 variant, aka double mutant,” he tweeted.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had announced that the other vaccine Covaxin works effectively against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus including the double mutant strain.

Covaxin is developed in India by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR. Covishield was developed by Oxford University and pharma giant Astrazeneca and is being manufactured by Serum Institute of India, Pune.

The ‘double mutant’ (B.1.617) is believed to have caused the current surge in cases in Maharashtra and other places.

Another variant B.1.618 is growing in West Bengal which has been dubbed as Triple Mutant. CCMB scientist Divya Tej Sowpati pointed out that the names of “double” and “triple” mutants are wrong and misleading and there’s no connection to what is being observed in West Bengal. He explained that it has been dubbed ‘triple’ because in addition to the two mutations, it also has V382L in its spike and that it is actually a sub-lineage of B.1.617.

Also Read: Covaxin Effective Against Double Mutant Strain Found In India: ICMR