Covishield is effective against Covid-19 Delta variant: study

According to a new study published in the Lancet, the Covishield coronavirus vaccine remained effective during the Delta variant outbreak in India earlier this year. In fully vaccinated people, the vaccine had a 63% efficacy rate, while it was 81% effective against moderate-to-severe disease.

The Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) led the study, which was conducted by Indian researchers, to evaluate the real-world vaccine effectiveness of Covishield during the SARS-CoV-2 infection surge between April and May 2021. “The emergence of mutant SARS-CoV-2 virus variants has raised concerns about vaccine efficacy. The Delta (B.1.617.2) strain is the most common in India “According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

“The ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine remained effective against moderate-to-severe COVID-19, even during a surge that was dominated by the highly transmissible delta variant of SARS-CoV-2,” the paper concluded.

They assessed neutralising activity and cellular immune responses against the variants in healthy vaccinated persons to understand the mechanisms of protection. Researchers found that the Spike-specific T-cell responses were conserved against both the delta variant and wild-type SARS-CoV-2.

The study included a comparison between 2379 cases of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and 1981 controls. Published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the study found that cellular immune protection might compensate for waning humoral immunity against the virus variants and prevent moderate-to-severe disease and the need for hospitalisation.

“This study provides comprehensive data on the real-world vaccine effectiveness and immunological response to vaccination which should help guide policy,” the Ministry added.

Covishield has remained the predominant candidate in inoculating Indians.