Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin 3rd phase clinical trials show 77.8% overall efficacy rate; vaccine 65.2% effective against Delta variant

In a significant development, indigenously developed Bharat Biotech’s Coronavirus vaccine Covaxin has been found to be 77.8 percent effective against symptomatic Coronavirus infections, the result of the third phase of clinical trials of the vaccine showed. While the efficacy rate of the vaccine remained 77.8 percent against symptomatic Covid-19 cases, the trial results found that the vaccine was effective in preventing the severe symptomatic COVID-19 cases by upto 93.4 percent efficacy rate, a press release issued by the Hyderabad-based pharma major said.

In another positive development, the vaccine makers found that the vaccine had an efficacy rate of upto 65.2 percent against the Delta variant of Coronavirus which is understood to have remained one of the prime reasons behind the second wave of Coronavirus in India, the UK and several other countries in the world. So far as the efficacy rate of the vaccine against asymptomatic cases is concerned, the clinical trials found that the vaccine was effective in preventing asymptomatic infection by as much as 63.6 percent.

The phase 3 clinical trials conducted by the pharma major was based on an event driven analysis of 130 symptomatic Coronavirus patients who had got infected with the infection two weeks after getting the second dose of Covaxin spread over 25 clinical trial sites in the country, the company said.

Prof. (Dr) Balram Bhargava, Secretary Department of Health Research & Director General Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in his first comments on the phase 3 trial results said that he was delighted to know that the indigenously developed vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech under the supervision of ICMR had an efficacy rate of 77.8 percent. He also said that Covaxin exhibited sound efficacy in the country’s largest Covid-19 phase 3 clinical trials conducted so far. He further said that sound efficacy results of the vaccine will not only contribute in saving hundreds of lives in the country but also in several countries of the world.

Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech said that he was proud to state that the innovative vaccine developed in the country will be available to protect global populations. The favourable clinical trials of the vaccine showed that India and the developing world was capable of focusing on innovation and novel product development.